iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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Astronomy Festival on the National Mall
No full textThe annual Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (AFNM) takes place on 11 acres north of the Washington Monument in June (previous AFNM were April and July). AFNM, sponsored by Hofstra University, features optical and radio telescope viewing of the Sun, Moon, planets, stars, clusters, and nebulae; a live large-screen image, a cell phone imaging mount; exhibits; hands-on activities; videos; large outdoor banners and posters; citizen science activities; hand-outs; bookmarks, and teacher information materials. With no tall buildings almost the entire sky is visible and 10th mag. moons of Saturn and the Ring Nebula (9.75 mag.) were easily visible on clear nights. Representatives from some of the nation’s foremost scientific and educational institutions presented exciting demonstrations and activities; and answered questions about careers in science, celestial objects, and the latest astronomical discoveries. Local amateur astronomers set up twenty telescopes on the Mall and long lines of 20–30 people waited to look through the telescopes. Visitors met astronaut Dr. John Grunsfeld (Associate Administrator, NASA) and astronomers Dr. Lisse, Dr. Livengood, Dr. Warren, and Dr. Paul Hertz (Director, Astrophysics Division, NASA). Important historical astronomers spoke to the attendees: Caroline Herschel (Lynn King); Tycho Brahe (Dean Howarth); and Johannes Kepler (Jeff Jones). Free telescopes, donated by Celestron, were raffled off
Crowdfunding Astronomy Research With Google Sky
No full textFor nearly four years, NASA's Kepler space telescope searched for planets like Earth around more than 150,000 stars similar to the Sun. In 2008 with in-kind support from several technology companies, our non-profit organization established the Pale Blue Dot Project, an adopt-a-star program that supports scientific research on the stars observed by the Kepler mission. To help other astronomy educators conduct successful fundraising efforts, I describe how this innovative crowdfunding program successfully engaged the public over the past seven years to help support an international team in an era of economic austerity
Science At Schools: Observation And Analysis Of A Partial Solar Eclipse
No full textNatural phenomena, such as eclipses, prompt interest and curiosity of humans since antiquity. For this reason the systematic monitoring of these events could be used to raise people’s interest from the simple contemplation, to didactic interest or to scientific research. The objective of this paper is therefore to stimulate the application and development of scientific research in the school environment. For this aim we propose to monitor solar eclipses. Students should obtain photographic registers using appropriated equipment for the observation of the Sun. Throughout analyses of photographs it should be possible to determine representative parameters of the characteristics and evolution of these interesting astronomical events. The results could be compared to highly accurate predictions. A detailed description of the methodology and features to be applied to observations is also provided
Applying Experiments Designed To An Extension Course In Astronomy For High School Students
No full textThis paper presents some experimental activities conducted in an extension course in Astronomy applied to high school students from public and private schools in a town located in the state of Minas Gerais. Seven activities were chosen, among others, to report the impressions of the authors. Some suggestions of application that may be helpful to others teachers are also made
Astro Talk in Social Media - Indonesia
No full textSocial media is a new trend in communicating and connecting to people. It is also a good choice to build awareness of astronomy as issues spread easily and quickly, creating hot topics. This paper will analyze the trend of astro talk in Indonesia and hope to inspire astronomers to use social media in raising awareness
GLOBE at Night in China
No full textThe GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaign was introduced in China in 2010. Observations and works made by students are presented. The students were guided to participate in this meaningful international activity by 1) taking light pollution observations of the night sky at different locations, 2) becoming aware of the severity of the effects of light pollution, and 3) making the whole society aware of the importance to save energy by reducing light pollution
Las Cumbres Observatory: Building a global telescope network from the ground up
No full textLas Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) are building a global network of telescopes which will be available to both professional scientists and the science
curious public. This telescope network will be global and so will the community, therefore all aspects of the endeavour must be online and self-sustaining - from the observing software to the analysis tools. During 2012 LCOGT have deployed the first 1-meter telescopes, and launched a citizen science project using LCOGT data, Agent Exoplanet, as well as many other online resources for anyone to use as they explore astronomy
Communicating Astronomy in a Metropolis and Disaster Area – Activities of the Tenpla Project
No full textWe present recent activities delivering astronomy to the public by the Tenpla project in Japan. One is voluntary activities in the disaster area of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The other is holding tens of star parties and public lectures in the central area of Tokyo
From Geocentrism to Allocentrism: Teaching the Phases of the Moon in a Digital Full-Dome Planetarium
No full textAn increasing number of planetariums worldwide are turning digital, using ultra- fast computers, powerful graphic cards, and high-resolution video projectors to create highly realistic astronomical imagery in real time. This modern technology makes it so that the audience can observe astronomical phenomena from a geocentric as well as an allocentric perspective (the view from space). While the dome creates a sense of immersion, the digital planetarium introduces a new way to teach astronomy, especially for topics that are inherently three-dimensional and where seeing the phenomenon from different points of view is essential. Like a virtual-reality environment, an immersive digital planetarium helps learners create a more scientifically accurate visualization of astronomical phenomena. In this study, a digital planetarium was used to teach the phases of the Moon to children aged 12 to 14. To fully grasp the lunar phases, one must imagine the spherical Moon (as perceived from space), revolving around the Earth while being illuminated by the Sun, and then reconcile this view with the geocentric perspective. Digital planetariums allow learners to have both an allocentric and a geocentric perspective on the lunar phases. Using a Design experiment approach, we tested an educational scenario in which the lunar phases were taught in an allocentric digital planetarium. Based on qualitative data collected before, during, and after the planetarium intervention, we were able to demonstrate that five out of six participants had a better understanding of the lunar phases after the planetarium session
Questioning The Fidelity Of The Next Generation Science Standards For Astronomy And Space Sciences Education
No full textAlthough the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are not federally mandated national standards or performance expectations for K-12 schools in the United States, they stand poised to become a de facto national science and education policy, as state governments, publishers of curriculum materials, and assessment providers across the country consider adopting them. In order to facilitate national buy-in and adoptions, Achieve, Inc., the non-profit corporation awarded the contract for writing the NGSS, has repeatedly asserted the development of the Standards to be a state-driven and transparent process, in which the scientific content is taken "verbatim", from the 2011 NRC report, Frameworks for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. This paper reports on an independently conducted fidelity check within the content domain of astronomy and the space sciences, conducted to determine the extent to which the NGSS science content is guided by the Frameworks, and the extent to which any changes have altered the scientific intent of that document. The side-by-side, two-document comparative analysis indicates that the science of the NGSS is significantly different from the Frameworks. Further, the alterations in the science represent a lack of fidelity, in that they have altered the parameters of the science and the instructional exposure (e.g., timing and emphasis). As a result the NGSS are now poised to interfere with widely desired science education reform and improvement. This unexpected finding affords scientists, educators, and professional societies with an opportunity, if not a professional obligation, to engage in positively impacting the quality of science education by conducting independent fidelity checks across other disciplines. This could provide a much needed formal support and guidance to schools, teachers, curriculum developers, and assessment providers