Involving university students in outreach activities as a way to approximate a fresh view of physics and physicists

SILVINA PONCE DAWSON

Stellenbosch

Conferencia; IV IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics; 2011

In many countries the number of women that choose a career in physics is very low. These low numbers may be related to cultural perceptions that are a consequence of having largely male role models. Given these low numbers the organizers of the IV IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics perceived the need to include the issue of how to attract more girls to physics as the subject of an interactive workshop. In the talk that I will present at this workshop I will narrate how at the School of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires we involve undergraduate students, both men and women, into the many activities for the popularization of science that we organize. I will discuss how the inclusion of these young people can help change stereotypes bringing a fresh view about physics and its practice that might eventually result in drawing a more diverse pool of kids to the science.