THE TEACHING OF ASTRONOMY IN URUGUAY

Abstract

We present in this work the development of astronomy in Uruguay since the colony times up to the present, stressing in particular those aspects related to the formal as well as informal teaching of astronomy. The first antecedents of astronomical studies in our country go back to the beginnings of the XVIIIth century related to the scientific expeditions from Europe coming to our shores. The teaching of astronomy was generalized at the high school level as soon as the end of the XIXth century, while its
introduction at the university level happened much later, around the middle of the last century. We analyze the current situation of this subject, its problems, and some measures to strengthen its development.