Presentation by Pedro Russo and Edward Gomez for the conference: Global Science Collaboration Conference 2013 http://globalsciencecollaboration2013.sched.org/event/e95160ac7d39b7cfaf5f914978fe1121#.UTcqM-ugnCk

1. Astronomy for Human
Capacity Building:
Children & Schools
Pedro Russo (EU-UNAWE/Leiden Univ.)
Edward Gomez (LCOGT/Cardiff Univ.)
Co-Chairs of the IAU OAD Task Force 2: Children and Schools

2. Pillars of Capacity Building
Stimulates imagination
Brings perspective
IAU OAD TF2
Children & Schools
Primary
Educa4on
Gateway to sciences
and engineering
Science
Secondary
Public
Educa4on
Outreach
ASTRONOMY
Ter4ary
Research
Educa4on

3. Our Vision
By 2020 IAU OAD has facilitated:
§ the training of hundreds of thousands of teachers.
§ the inclusion of astronomy in the curriculum of dozens
of countries.
§ the production and distribution of hundreds of
educational resources for teachers and children.
§ the organisation of thousands of events for children.
And in this way reached millions of children.

4. Children and Schools
To use astronomy to inspire the very young and
stimulate education, especially science education.
Main Tasks:
§ To advise the OAD on Children & Schools matters
§ To support OAD Regional Nodes Activities
§ To facilitate interactions between pre-tertiary
education stakeholders
§ To support the OAD fundraising
§ To run some key core projects

5. Core Project 1: Peer Review Platform
§ A platform for astronomy communicators to discover,
review, redistribute, submit and remix educational
resources.
§ A platform to review and obtain objective guidance on
the resources, have successful resources published in a
central repository and receive IAU approval/
accreditation

8. Peer Review Platform for
Educational Resources
1. Reuse - e.g., make a digital copy of the
content
2. Revise - e.g., translate the content into
another language or modify a learning
activity
3. Remix - e.g., incorporate the content
into other content
4. Redistribute - e.g., give a copy of the
content to a friend
5. Review: Content and quality reviewed
(and improved) by the community
peers

11. Core Project 2:
Astro Pack
§ Demand for physical materials is high, mainly in
the developing world.
§ Many educational resources produced end up in
storage rooms without being used.
§ The idea is not to produce new materials but use
the existing printed ones.
§ Lend credibility to the material.
§ Can be used without a computer (but if it is easy to
provide digital copy we can consider this too).

12. Proposals from the Community
Type of 2012 proposals:
§ Teacher Training
§ Resource Development
§ Curriculum Research
§ Visually Impaired Educational Material
94 Proposals (only 5 proposals accepted)
€ 772 079 requested (€ 27 000 granted)

13. EU Global Astronomy
Education Projects
§ EU
Universe
Awareness:
Funded
by
the
EU.
§ EU-­‐HoU:
Connec4ng
classrooms
to
the
Milky
Way:
Funded
by
the
EU.
§ Las
Cumbres
Observatory
Global
Telescope
Network:
Educa1onal
ac1vi1es
coordinated
from
the
EU
with
emphasis
in
South
Africa.
Funded
by
private
donor.

14. EU Universe Awareness
Use perspective, inspiration and fun of
astronomy to:
§ Introduce young children from
disadvantaged backgrounds to the
excitement of science
§ Enhance their understanding of the
world and demonstrate the power of
critical thinking
§ Broaden children s minds
§ Stimulate world citizenship

15. EU Universe Awareness
2011 European Union awarded EU-UNAWE 1.9 million euros
to fund the 3-year programme in 6 countries (The
Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and South Africa)
International Network
§ Platform for teachers and development of professionals worldwide
§ Exchange of ideas, experience and materials
§ Coordinators and managers in each participating country, tailored to
each country/community
Educational Material
§ Games, cartoons, songs, hands-on material, etc.
§ Needs to be FUN and INTERACTIVE
Teacher Training
§ Give teachers the confidence to introduce astronomy and other
science topics in their classrooms
§ Teacher = strong multiplier

16. EU Universe Awareness
54 Countries
(37 from
developing
world)
600+
Educators,
Teachers &
Astronomers

17. More information
§ IAU OAD: www.astro4dev.org
§ EU Universe Awareness: www.unawe.org
§ EU-HoU: Connecting classrooms to the Milky Way:
http://www.euhou.net/index.php/exercises-
mainmenu-13/radio
§ Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope
Network: www.lcogt.net
Pedro Russo @pruss | Edward Gomez @zemogle