Night of the Stars: Community Engagement in Astronomy and Science

iGEM UAM participated in Noche de las Estrellas, held at Bosque de Tláhuac. The event was designed to bring science closer to the community through interactive educational activities, with a particular focus on astronomy outreach and fostering scientific curiosity among diverse audiences.

The program combined hands-on workshops, educational games, and participatory activities, aiming to provide attendees with an engaging introduction to astronomical concepts while promoting STEM interest across all age groups.

Event Context

Noche de las Estrellas is a national public science event that promotes astronomy education and scientific literacy through community engagement. As part of the social outreach activities required by the iGEM competition, the iGEM UAM team organized multiple interactive stations to facilitate learning through play and creative exploration.

Activities Developed

The event featured several educational activities designed to accommodate different age groups and learning styles:

Astro-Bingo

An interactive game developed to teach basic astronomical concepts through visual and word association. Participants matched images and terminology with celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena, reinforcing knowledge acquisition through gamification.

Astro-Memory Game

An astronomy-themed adaptation of the classic memory matching game. Participants, particularly younger children, paired cards featuring planets, stars, constellations, and other astronomical objects. This activity promoted visual memory development and foundational science recognition skills.

Build Your Own Rocket Workshop

A hands-on construction activity where attendees assembled simple rocket models using accessible materials. The workshop introduced participants to basic physics principles and space exploration concepts while encouraging creativity and imagination. This activity generated the highest engagement levels among children and young participants.

Conference on Synthetic Biology in Astronomy

We made a presentation about how synthetic biology can enable in situ resource utilization (ISRU)—producing necessary materials using local or recycled resources instead of launching them from Earth.

• Food production: Engineered microbes or plants can produce proteins, vitamins, and essential nutrients in controlled environments like bioreactors or bioengineered greenhouses.
• Bioplastics and materials: Microorganisms can be engineered to convert Martian or lunar regolith and waste into construction materials, tools, or packaging (e.g., PHA bioplastics).
• Fuel and chemicals: Synthetic microbes can produce fuels like methane or alcohols using local inputs (e.g., CO₂, water, sunlight).

Participants

The event reached an estimated 481 attendees throughout its duration. The audience comprised a diverse demographic including families, children, adolescents, and adults with varying levels of prior scientific knowledge. Registration was open to the public, and all activities were provided free of charge to maximize community access.

Event Development

The iGEM UAM team staffed multiple activity stations throughout the event, facilitating continuous participation and allowing attendees to engage with multiple activities according to their interests. Team members provided guidance, answered questions, and adapted explanations to suit different age groups and comprehension levels.

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing appreciation for the accessible and entertaining approach to science communication. Many families reported that the activities sparked conversations about science and space exploration that continued beyond the event.

Conclusion

The participation in Noche de las Estrellas provided the team with a valuable opportunity to contribute to science communication in an open community setting. The event successfully sparked scientific interest in over 400 people across multiple generations and strengthened iGEM UAM's commitment to social and educational outreach as required by the iGEM competition.

Through this initiative, iGEM UAM demonstrated that astronomy and synthetic biology can be integrated within a common science communication framework, showing that science can be accessible, engaging, and meaningful for all ages. These types of activities are fundamental to generating social impact and inspiring new generations toward scientific thinking and careers in STEM fields.