Announcement

Girls’ Day Event at ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany

1 February 2016

On 28 April 2016, ESO will participate in Germany’s Girls’ Day activities, in which technical enterprises, universities and research organisations open their doors to female school students to give them an insight into science and technology professions and to encourage more of them to choose careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

The ESO Girls’ Day will introduce the work of ESO and highlight many of our daily activities, such as astrophysical research, mechanical and opto-mechanical design and integration, operations, and much more. The programme includes an introductory talk, a tour of the main ESO laboratories, and hands-on workshops on astronomy and engineering.

The students will learn how astronomical instruments are built, tested and operated. They will also learn how data are collected and used in astronomical research to answer the big questions about the Universe. This will provide the students with an insight into the kinds of work done by engineers and astronomers at ESO.

Rounding off this introduction to the world’s most productive astronomical observatory, there will be a live video link to Cerro Paranal, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The students will be able to talk with ESO astronomers working 11 000 kilometres away on this remote mountaintop in Chile’s Atacama Desert, 2600 metres above sea level.

Places for this event are limited. To register, please visit the Girls’ Day website. The talks and workshops at the event will be in German.

When: 09:00, Thursday 28 April 2016

Where: ESO Headquarters, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, Germany

Who: Girls over 14 years of age.