Dr Niall SmithCork Institute of Technology Blackrock Castle Observatory

Experiences from CIT Blackrock Castle

Observatory

GLORIA Community Open DayMay 15th 2014

• Why STEM and why astronomy?

• Target audience

• What we do at CIT-BCO

• Case Studies– Radio Messages to Space– TARA optical telescopes

• Conclusions

Outline of Talk

• Knowledge-based economies require STEM

• Numbers taking STEM at third level is insufficient to fill the jobs of the future (and now!)

– 20% of population in Asia study STEM at university – 7% in US– 2% in Europe

• Astronomy has three advantages– inspirational to everyone to some degree, especially the young– it exists in all cultures in some way– requires people across all the skills

Why STEM and why astronomy?

Why STEM and why astronomy?

• To increase interest in STEM related careers at a time when technology is increasingly commonplace in society

• To develop inquiry-based education that can reach directly into existing educational systems

• To improve the baseline understanding and acceptance of scientific methods amongst the general public

• Build science/innovation/creativity capacity on a global scale

What’s the Global Challenge?

Teachers

Students

Communities

What’s the Target Audience?

Age

Rat

e of

ret

urn

to in

vest

men

t in

hum

an

capi

tal

Preschool programs

Schooling

Job training

0-3 4-5School Post-school

Programs targeted towards the earliest years

“Strong case for funding interventions in early childhood for disadvantaged children”

(Heckman 2007)

Parents

Blackrock Castle Observatory (Cork, Ireland)

• Particular interest in STEM education

• Over 100,000 visitors to science centre annually

• Over 50,000 schoolchildren have availed of our workshops (at primary and secondary level)

• Accredited to provide Continuing Professional Development to teachers to use “space” in the classroom

Significant feedback from a wide and varied cohort

“

•The user selects the exoplanet to which a real radio signal is beamed via a 1m radiotelescope

•Watch live via a web interface

•Messages can be tracked subsequently using a unique user id

Case Study I – Message to Space

Case Study I – Message to Space

Gatheringthe

Gathering

Case Study I – Message to Space

• Sending a message to space provides a unique context for discussion

- what are stars and planets?

- how far away are the stars?

- how do you make a radio telescope?

- what might alien DNA look like?

Case Study I – Provides a Unique Experience

• The same questions can be discussed according to the user level. • The complexity of the data you receive depends on the user level.

• engineering data / sensor data

Flexible, scalable and very cost-effective

Case Study II - TARA

VISION

To facilitate inquiry-based learning and cultural discussions using a global array of (small) optical telescopes

• Telescopes:

• Ormondale Elementary School, CA, USA

• CIT-BCO, Cork, Ireland

• (Pune, India – planned)

• Based on feedback – SIZE of telescope is NOT of primary importance

Case Study II - TARA

• Modes of Operation

• Live Imaging (“see” the telescope move)• Scheduled

• Distributed approach to “ownership”

• Local expertise provides curricular support• Local expertise provides cultural context

• Berkeley “multiverse” and school district in San Francisco• CIT-BCO in Cork• (University Pune / Fergusson College in India)

Facilitating Live Imaging

The TARA model

Telescope Array

Local expertise

Curriculum

Culture

Local expertise

Curriculum

Culture

Cultural exchangesScience exchanges

Local expertise

Curriculum

Culture

First Results from California

Why is Global Cooperation Important?

USER

Customised Web Interface

Ground-Based Telescopes

Student/Teacher Public ResearchPrimary / Secondary / Tertiary Parents TOO / Time Series

LanguageCulture

Complexity Focus

“60% of earth’s population will be on internet by 2015” Atomium Culture Conference, Dublin, March 2013

This demands global

cooperation

Conclusion –

• Now technologically possible to bring live data into the classroom, the science centre, etc.• Size of telescope is NOT the key factor

• Control has much more impact on the user• Activities are vital to end-user engagement

• Telescopes can be sited where the hardware expertise resides• Very cost-effective access model for poorer communities

• Data can be customised to the target audience• Can target a global audience

• The experience is centred around inquiry / debate / uniqueness

• Encourages discussion across cultural and discipline boundaries

Digital meets Physical

Thankyou

www.bco.ie