The outreach program "Our Students and the ORM," (“Nuestr@s Alumn@s y el ORM”) aimed at schools in La Palma, is celebrating its 15th edition and is commemorating its 15th anniversary with unanimous recognition from its user community. This consolidated initiative of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC) has concluded this academic year with 100% satisfaction from the schools in La Palma that participated in this edition.
This program seeks to bring font-line science and technology to the island's younger generations by involving the scientific and administrative staff of the ORM and its user institutions. In this edition, the Department of Culture of the Cabildo of La Palma has supported the initiative by subsidizing student transportation from their schools to the ORM.
This project was initiated in the framework of the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. The programme includes a talk, given in schools, and a visit to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and Visitor Centre. All activities are carried out by the staff of the IAC and the scientific institutions present at the ORM, specifically from the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), the Galileo National Telescope (TNG), the MAGIC telescopes, the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), and the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING). Since the programme launch, several generations of La Palma schoolchildren from 14 secondary schools on the island have participated.
The 2024-25 course began its activities in early February with talks at schools, followed by scheduled visits to the ORM which concluded on May 26, with a total attendance of 757 students. This year, the organization of the activities has had to deal with logistical complexities resulting from frequent bad weather, unusual for the island.
The satisfaction of those participating is shown in the results of the questionnaire sent to the centres, in which 100% of the replies showed that the visit to the ORM had lived up to their expectations.
The visits to the telescopes by the groups from the schools included the GTC, the TNG, and the CTA. The general evaluation of these visits was “very good” in 70% of the cases, and “good” in 30%. 100% of those answering said that they would repeat their visit to the telescope.
The explanatons of the telescope staff earned the qualification “very positive”, from those answering the questionnaire,. They were termed “wonderful,” “exactly what we needed and interesting” or “correct and clear” or “highly satisfactory” by the students.
The visit to the Observatory facilities is complemented by a guided tour of the Roque de los Muchachos Visitor Centre, which was highly rated by the majority of participants. This year's event was supported by the Cabildo of La Palma, which provided transport from the schools to the Observatory. The event received mostly "good" ratings, with 40% "very good" and 40% "good."
Established initiative
This program is a well-established initiative whose aim is to strengthen the connection between astrophysics and the island, and has been instrumental over the years in stimulating scientific vocations among La Palma's young people. The "Our Students and Roque de los Muchachos" program is organized by combining the efforts of the IAC and the ORM's scientific institutions in astronomy outreach.
In addition to the "Our Students and the ORM" programme for 4th-year ESO students, which will begin in September, the programme for high school and vocational training students in technology and computer science will continue, including visits to the "La Palma" supercomputer at the Francisco Sánchez Astrophysics Centre.
