SCIENCE IN THE FAMILY: PROMOTING SCIENTIFIC CULTURE AND SOCIAL APPROPRIATION OF SCIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

As the State Government agency in charge of science and technology policies in Nuevo Leon, the Institute of Innovation and Technology Transfer (I2T2) is always looking for strategic alliances for collaboration to boost the impact and the reach of its programs and support mechanisms to strengthen the capacities of the State's Innovation Ecosystem. One of these capacities is the training of specialized human talent, which is boosted, along with other strategies, by the promotion of science and engineering careers among the students of the local institutions, from primary to higher education levels. The resources and beneficiaries of the programs and projects aimed to promote science and technology vocations have increased exponentially in the last years, and their impact has even been recognized internationally. This has been possible thanks to the help and cooperation of R&D centers, civil associations, and other government institutions. Such is the case of the program "Science in the Family", carried out with the collaboration of the Science and Technology for Children of the State's Ministry of Education. It consists in a series of experiments taught in the classroom that students must replicate at home with their parents and other relatives and register using the scientific method. It also includes training for the teachers involved in the program, and awareness workshops for the participant schools' principals and teachers. The program started on 2004, and the Federal Ministry of Education gave it a special mention in "Improvement Management Award 2009". Also, the international panel of educational researchers "Innovation in Science Education-Turning Kids on to Science" identified Science in Family as an innovative program in science teaching, which is why it was adopted in the United Kingdom and Austria on 2012. The program was established in Slovenia on 2012 as well, and because of its international impact, the German journalist Philipp Hummel, specialized in scientific journalism, traveled to Nuevo Leon to carry out a research about Science in the family. Science in the family is supported by the I2T2 with resources from the national Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) since 2013, and to date it has reached over 60,000 students on primary education and their families. We will present the concept and methodology and the impact of the program in our communities.