The closing ceremony for the RACiMo Orchids program, a citizen science initiative led by the UIS School of Physics and the Halley Group, was held in the Coomuldesa Classroom at the UIS Socorro Campus. The project aims to establish science clubs in schools across the department and strengthen air quality monitoring through collaborative work with students.
Twelve educational institutions from Santander participated in the process. Four of them are located in the municipality of El Socorro: Colegio Universitario, Instituto Técnico Industrial Monseñor Carlos Ardila García, Colegio Avelina Moreno, and Colegio Militar General Santander. The activities began in August 2025 and were carried out through four training modules that included the scientific method, environmental monitoring, and data analysis using computational tools. Finally, the students formulated their own research questions, analyzed information collected by weather stations, and shared their results through videos on the closing day.
Laura Flores, a postdoctoral researcher with the Halley group at the UIS School of Physics, explained that the program is based on the community’s active participation in the production of knowledge: “The young people not only accessed air quality data, but also learned how to interpret it and communicate their findings.” She also noted that completing the process represents a significant achievement and highlighted the students’ response. “This is a project that received support from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and new funding is currently being sought to ensure its continuity.” She added that the installed stations will remain operational and that the collected data will remain available for public consultation.
For her part, Astrid Carvajal Carreño, a professor at the Colegio Universitario del Socorro, highlighted the program’s impact on the students: “The support provided by the research team allowed them to understand environmental data from a much more personal perspective. The process sparked students’ interest in science, and that is why we, as an institution, hope to continue our collaborative work with the UIS, with the aim of maintaining these educational opportunities and contributing to the development of future committed professionals”.
