Maria Elvira Salazar

Colombian educator who created Latin America's first science education program for rural communities

Maria Elvira Salazar (1932-2008) pioneered science education in Colombia's remote regions through her Mobile Science Centers initiative launched in 1968. Born to a farming family, she recognized the lack of scientific literacy among rural populations and developed portable labs that traveled to underserved areas. Her work inspired UNESCO's Science Education for Rural Development program. Salazar's methods are detailed in 《Science on Wheels》, a book translated into 12 languages.

She established the Salazar University in 1975, which remains a leader in STEM education. Salazar's legacy includes training over 50,000 teachers and developing bilingual educational materials in Spanish and Indigenous languages. Her story was featured in the BBC documentary 《The Science Ambassador》 (2010), which highlights her cross-cultural contributions.