UbatubaSat Project - A Journey of Discovery
Director Daniela Gross
Countries Brazil
Duration 32 min
Synopsis
The documentary UbatubaSat Project – A Journey of Discovery relates the story of a science project in a Brazilian public school, designed by a maths teacher passionate for the sciences. The teacher came up with the idea after reading a story on budget satellites in a national magazine. With the support of the school and various partners, a short while later students of the school “President Tancredo de Almeida Neves”, located in Ubatuba São Paulo, became involved in the construction of a small satellite. Known for its natural beauty and numerous pristine beaches, Ubatuba is a coastal tourist city, where the majority of the population of more than 70,000 subsist on either fishing or activities during the high season. In this context, the UbatubaSat Project is even more unique and innovative because it involves a public education institution and presents a course framework that has never previously been developed with such young people. The film traces the trajectory of the design and construction of the satellite by the students, which started when they were between 10 and 11 years of age. The project even brought them to NASA in the United States and to Japan, where a scientific paper prepared by the students was accepted by the country’s largest aerospace congress. With the aim of arousing curiosity in science and technology, the project ended up going far beyond the classroom, transcending all limitations. It also shows that it is possible to stimulate students at an early stage, by putting into practice what is usually only taught in theory.
The documentary UbatubaSat Project – A Journey of Discovery relates the story of a science project in a Brazilian public school, designed by a maths teacher passionate for the sciences. The teacher came up with the idea after reading a story on budget satellites in a national magazine. With the support of the school and various partners, a short while later students of the school “President Tancredo de Almeida Neves”, located in Ubatuba São Paulo, became involved in the construction of a small satellite. Known for its natural beauty and numerous pristine beaches, Ubatuba is a coastal tourist city, where the majority of the population of more than 70,000 subsist on either fishing or activities during the high season. In this context, the UbatubaSat Project is even more unique and innovative because it involves a public education institution and presents a course framework that has never previously been developed with such young people. The film traces the trajectory of the design and construction of the satellite by the students, which started when they were between 10 and 11 years of age. The project even brought them to NASA in the United States and to Japan, where a scientific paper prepared by the students was accepted by the country’s largest aerospace congress. With the aim of arousing curiosity in science and technology, the project ended up going far beyond the classroom, transcending all limitations. It also shows that it is possible to stimulate students at an early stage, by putting into practice what is usually only taught in theory.