East of Naples, young people study space with Maestri di Strada and Assi

The youth of the eastern suburbs of Naples at the School of Astrophysics. This opportunity comes thanks to the cooperation of the non-profit organization Maestri di Strada and the Italian Space Agency, which intends to involve young people in situations of severe educational poverty and at risk of dropping out of school in the study of technical science subjects.

The educational reality led by Cesar Moreno – based in Cerro Colonna Canter Urbano for educational transformations in Via Curzio Malaparte in Ponticelli – will create, thanks to ASI, new laboratories to deepen the study of science, technology and engineering. (Materials and Mathematics) aimed at very young children. In addition, new specialized training and training opportunities will be offered for teachers, educators and operators in the tertiary social sector. In this way it will be possible to learn the meaning of space adventures from the immediate heroes so that they can pass it on to their students.

In May, meetings are scheduled with Alessandro Coletta, Elisabetta Cavazzotti of ASI and Silvia Piranomonte of INAF. There is talk about the usefulness of Earth observation satellites and the most important astrophysical discoveries over the past ten years. Starting Wednesday, May 18, 4-6 p.m., ASI astrophysicist Alessandro Coletta, mission director of the COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation and ASI director of the Downstream Services and Applications unit, will explain “why observing Earth from space is good for us.” The meetings are organized on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 May by Elisabetta Cavazzotti, an astrophysicist, one of the leading researchers in space programs studying astrophysical phenomena in X-rays and gamma rays, and Silvia Piranomonte, a researcher at the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), where Conducting research in the field of multi-message astronomy: they will focus on the most important astrophysical discoveries of the past 10 years with a particular focus on “going into space”. Presenting the meetings, Germana Galoforo, Head of ASI’s Education Office and Educational Activities for the Minerva Mission, Cesar Moreno, President of Nonprofit Methods Teachers, and Filomena Carrillo, Head of Training for Nonprofit Methods Teachers. Further meetings are scheduled for the fall to deepen science and technology applied in space.

“Minerva’s mission with Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti allowed me to seize the opportunity presented by space missions to dedicate an important role to educational activities and seize the opportunity, once again, to promote and disseminate space culture as a source of inspiration for young people,” he explains Mario Cosmo, Director of Science and Research at ASIdetailing: “The meeting between ASI and nonprofit street educators wants to signal, inspire, and tell young people who live in situations of marginalization, educational poverty, and the danger of early school dropout, and instead, we should aim to find a distant, bright horizon.”

“Scientific technical training is at the same time providing the youth with the greatest job opportunities and an important resource for our country to improve its economy. It is also known that many young people in difficult situations are more willing to deal with technical subjects rather than express themselves in the humanities,” he explains. Cesar Moreno, President of Maestri di Strada onlus, who adds: “For all these reasons, Maestre de Strada invests heavily in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines while at the same time giving young people the opportunity to explore their soul through poetry and dreams. The title of the course “Spaces of Intermenati and Supernatural Silence” is a quote from “Infinite” by Giacomo Leopardi which was the center of an experimental capillary laboratory, and the three stars in Archer’s eyes are dream, care, and beauty are the three guiding principles of our work. Through the eyes of Samanta Cristofoletti and her colleagues at ASI we have the possibility of daydreaming and at the same time the possibility of opening a ‘window’ with scientists excited about scientific careers.”

The meetings will take place in Naples at the Ciro Colonna Urban Construction site for educational transformations via Curzio Malaparte 42 in Ponticelli, quattiere east of Naples, and it will also be possible to follow them in live broadcast.