IA/U.Lisboa Seminar - Experiments in Public Engagement and Education at the U.S. - 23 fevereiro 2017

The US National Optical Astronomy Observatory, in Tucson, Arizona and La Serena Chile is actively engaged in a number of experiments to improve science education and to interest the public in astronomy. These efforts include projects in citizen science, science kit design and production, and Saturday Academies for high school students on big data and the future of astronomy. We also have a strong focus on preserving the night sky around our observatories and in teaching about the tools of astronomy. Both observatory stations attract visitors from over the world and our Visitor Centers and programs are a new focus of our efforts. A new approach we have been pursuing for the last 4 years is to combine art with science, in the hopes of attracting underrepresented groups in science to establish a science identity. I will describe some of our ongoing experiments and some lessons learned as we continue to change our program in response to the evolution of our observatory mission.