Two years after the 305-meter radio telescope collapsed at Arecibo Observatory on 1 December 2020, NSF announced that the site would be converted into an educational center (see “NSF’s Arecibo strategy puts future research into question,” Physics Today online, 15 November 2022). NSF’s Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills, and Community Engagement (NSF Arecibo C3) is scheduled to open in November. The move is simultaneously welcomed by and disappointing to people who visited or used the observatory for research.
NSF Arecibo C3 will feature a laboratory and an interactive science center with STEM exhibits and activities focused on biology and computer science. The center will target educators, K–12 students, and the general public.
A pilot phase began in late May. High school and college faculty from Puerto Rico and the rest of the US were invited to a workshop for a deep dive...
