CIENCIA PUERTO RICO: LEVERAGING THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO ADVANCE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

In an effort to increase scientific literacy among the Puerto Rican and Hispanic general public, the non-profit Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) has developed several initiatives, using traditional and new media, to disseminate science. Through its online platform, CienciaPR leverages the collective knowledge wealth of the Puerto Rican scientific community, providing contextualized and culturally-relevant stories about scientists and scientific concepts. These stories are presented in multiple print and online formats and include concepts related to the geology of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Plate, geohazards, and global climate change. This dissemination is possible through the collaboration with media outlets such as: El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico's widest-circulation newspaper; Diálogo Digital, the digital newspaper of the University of Puerto Rico; El Nuevo Periódico de Caguas, a community newspaper; Ciencias Terrestres, Geología y Puerto Rico, a geoscience dissemination blog; and Science Friday en Español and E-ciencia.com, international science media outlets. In 2008, CienciaPR launched a Spanish-language science podcast series, available through its website and iTunes, and broadcasted by local radio stations (Radio Casa Pueblo and Radio Prócer). In 2011, Ciencia Puerto Rico published ¡Ciencia Boricua! Ensayos y anécdotas del científico puertorro, the first anthology of culturally-relevant multidisciplinary science essays written by Puerto Rican scientists with the purpose of developing science awareness and understanding. CienciaPR has increased the extent of culturally-relevant scientific news content in Puerto Rico and raised awareness about the importance of science and the work of Puerto Rican scientists. Over 103 articles and 193 podcasts have been published. In addition to these informal science education initiatives, CienciaPR uses social media networking platforms (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) to disseminate original science articles and podcasts, as well as other relevant news and science-related information. This paper discusses CienciaPR model and perspective on the participation of professional scientists and educators, both local and from the diaspora, in science education and dissemination.