Jardin

Verdun | Antioquia | Colombia |

SEF’s project in Jardin begins with Dr. Mercedes Arrubla. The math teacher began a data-gathering programme with NASA to show her students the effects of climate change. This project has now grown to include 80 of her students, with much success. The new principal of the school in Jardin wanted to expand the project for the entire school, and starting fall 2012, an immersion camp will take place in Jardin. The camp will open with a workshop led by Dr. Raul Cuero, Colombian scientist and creator of the Creativity parks in different cities of the world. SEF was granted the special opportunity to be involved in this project, with goals of helping the school with needed equipment and scholarships to the children that can’t come to school. Equipment for the science lab, as well as instruments, art supplies and bilingual materials were brought to kick off the immersion week for the 450 children that attend Miguel Valencia School.  

Community Overview

In a rural school 3 hours from Medellin, Colombia there is a small group of 80 children in a school that are involved in a very unique project called “Observers of the Atmospheric Time”. Their leader is the math teacher, Mercedes Arrubla, who for the last 12 years, has inspired several children to learn math in a fun and original way, and get them involved with science to understand their surroundings. Few people in the area know the tenacious job Mercedes has been doing with these students. The children come from dysfunctional families, from several “veredas” of the area by foot, bicycle or donkey. Some don’t have enough food in their homes, but they want to learn more about the sky, the wind, the climate change and be part of this project.

These groups of children have built their own instruments to read all the measurements that are required as part of the project coordinated by NASA worldwide. For many years they have been ranked in the top 25 schools involved in this program around the world for their discipline and accuracy of their results. Every day a satellite from NASA goes over the school to take the measurements that will be compared with those that the children take at the ground.