In this special issue of our newsletter, we want to highlight some of the projects presented during the Communicating Astronomy with the Public conference that took place here in Fukuoka, Japan, from 24 to 28 March. We can only bring you a small sample of the many submissions—but here’s a sneak peak at some great plenary speakers we had the pleasure of hearing this week. With Elizabeth Avery, we learned about Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Planetarium; with Daria Dall'Olio, we learned about Costellazione Manga: a space journey through animation, comics and astronomy; and with João Retrê, we learned about Future Scientists Communicating Science.
We’ll be featuring other work in upcoming issues, so stay tuned!
Special thanks go to all the participants of Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2018 who shared their incredible stories and great examples of different ways of communicating astronomy around the world—we’re honoured to be part of this journey together with you all.
Wishing you all Happy Readings & Clear Skies!
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team @ CAP 2018 Fukuoka
1) Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Planetarium, by Elizabeth Avery
After a planetarium show a few years ago, a teacher told us that they wished they’d brought their whole class, but they hadn’t because they thought it wouldn’t be suitable for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This lightbulb moment illuminated the fact that a whole group of people felt our organisation wasn’t a suitable place for them. So we decided to make the planetarium a destination where ASD groups could feel comfortable, included, and inspired by the beauty of astronomy. We collaborated with experts and the intended audience to develop a planetarium show specifically for ASD groups. Now we regularly have groups of ASD visitors coming to the Royal Observatory who feel it is a place for them—SUCCESS! We’d like to share all that we’ve learned through this process so more organisations can embrace the idea of creating and delivering content for ASD groups, making your planetarium and visitor centres more widely accessible.
2) Costellazione Manga: a space journey through animation, comics, and astronomy, by Daria Dall'Olio
Costellazione Manga is a project using Japanese comics (manga) and animation (anime) to explain astronomy. We consider the astronomical references in these works and highlight the physics behind them. We talk about outstanding topics in modern astrophysics, and take a cue from realistic comics to illustrate the harsh reality of space travel. Conversely, we use manga and anime with fantasy content to introduce general topics: the differences between stars, planets, and galaxies, and the possibility of finding life on other planets. We also describe how the same stars are perceived differently by different cultures. Japanese animation has been frequently broadcast on Italian (and in general, on European) TV since the late 1970s, so that nowadays anime and manga represent a common language for at least two generations of Europeans. The suggestions put forth by manga and anime, together with the childhood memories they evoke, make this a powerful way of attracting curiosity and attention to astronomy and science.
3) Future Scientists Communicating Science, by João Retrê
There’s a growing need for motivated people who can create a bridge between scientific research and the public. Viver Astronomia (Living Astronomy) is an informal education programme in Astronomy, designed by Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, that aims to nurture a culture of science communication among science students and train students who are involved in science communication initiatives. Students receive monthly training in astronomy and astrophysics, as well as in science communication. The programme also reinforces formal science education and stimulates the development of communication skills. This project began in 2009 with more than 300 students having already experienced it. Currently 70 students from different areas of knowledge, colleges, universities and high schools are actively participating in the programme.
4) Citizen Scientists Capture Totality with the Eclipse Megamovie, by Vivian White
They said it couldn’t be done. How do you make a movie of a total eclipse over an entire continent? First, you train hundreds of volunteers to photograph a challenging phenomenon most of them have never seen before. Then harness the power of technology to set up a web interface that collects images, tags them with GPS coordinates, then rotates, resizes, and arranges them sequentially—so that less than 5 hours after the eclipse ended, the first Megamovie was released that showed the sun’s changing corona over 90 minutes. But that was just the beginning. Find out how citizen scientists captured more than 50K images from the path of totality that scientists are using thanks to a partnership between UC Berkeley, Google, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
5) "In a certain place in the Universe…" and other multidisciplinary projects at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, by Carmen Del Puerto
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has a long history of conducting outreach initiatives, having carried out a variety of multidisciplinary projects such as "Do Puppets Dream of the Cosmos?"; "Cosmic Fashion"; and "Stars in the Vineyards.” Our "In a certain place in the Universe…" blended astronomy with well-known figures in contemporary Hispanic literature for a project aimed at helping those with Alzheimer’s disease. "NIÉPCE, from the negative to the positive" was a tribute to the role of photography in astronomy. "The return of Henrietta Leavitt. From school to a research career, via the Theatre” publicizes the work of women in science with theatre performances of The Lost Honour of Henrietta Leavitt for schoolchildren and the general public (incorporating sign language), scientific lectures by young girls, workshops on measuring the Universe, a magazine and video about women in Astronomy, and street art murals.
6) Curating Content for Gemini Observatoryʻs Dichotomy of Social Media Audiences, by Alexis Ann Acohido
The burgeoning popularity of social media has opened many new avenues of communication with and for everyone, and our work in sharing astronomy with the public is no exception. At Gemini as well as other observatories, we identify our two primary audiences—our user community, and the scientifically engaged public. Our greatest challenge is how best to use social media to communicate with our audiences. We can do this by having well-defined objectives to ensure consistent and targeted messaging. Once our objectives are clear, we identify metrics to help us measure the success of our content.
7) The Audience-Driven Spaceship — Giving Audiences Control Through Interactive Planetarium Shows, by Paul Decierdo Pecier
Playing With The Universe (PWU) is an educational programme developed to address the issue of interactivity in live planetarium shows. Our other planetarium shows have significant interaction between facilitators and participants. However, the interaction doesn’t give participants control over the flow of the show. In PWU, the participants are given some degree of control. I prepare a pre-set decision tree that covers the essentials of the topic. During the show, there are junctions when the participants can "vote." The flow can be likened to a choose-your-own-adventure book. The participants "vote" either by raising coloured paddles or pointing a laser pointer at the screen. The coloured paddle is used when the virtual sky is shown on a large TV screen, and 1-mW laser pointers are used when the virtual sky is projected on a wall. An oral class contract at the beginning of the show helps to foster a group dynamic where students police each other’s use of the laser pointers. The contract also enhances the interaction among the participants.
b) European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences (EWASS)
Dates: 3-8 April 2018
Location: Liverpool, UK More information: http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/
c) 15th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (PCST2018)
Date: 4–6 April 2018
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
More Information: http://www.pcst2018.org/pcst18
d) Yuri’s Night
Date: 12 April
Location: All around the world
More information: https://yurisnight.net/
e) 11th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics
Date: 12—14 April 2018
Location: Campos de Goytacazes, Brazil
More Information: http://bit.ly/2xP8uik
f) International Day of Light
Date: 16 May 2018
Location: Around the world
More Information: https://www.lightday.org/
g) Asteroid Day
Date: 30 June 2018
Location: Around the world
More Information: http://asteroidday.org/
i) International Science Engagement Camp (ISEC) Dates: 6-22 July 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
More Information: www.isec2018.wordpress.com
j) ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) 2018
Dates: 9-14 July 2018
Location: Toulouse, France
More Information: https://www.esof.eu/en/
k) Committee on Space Research - COSPAR
Date: July 14-22, 2018
Location: Pasadena, California
More information: http://cospar2018.org/
l) Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) Conference & the InterNational Astronomy Teaching Summit
Dates: 22-27 July 2018
Location: Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
More information: rtsre.org
r) World Space Week 2018
Dates: 4-10 October 2018
Location: All around the world
More Information: http://www.worldspaceweek.org
s) International Observe the Moon Night
Date: 20 October 2018
Location: All around the world
More Information: http://observethemoonnight.org/
t) Starmus Festival V: A Giant Leap
Date: 24–29 June 2019
Location: Bern, Switzerland
More information: https://www.starmus.com/
Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.
9) IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
- Translations into Serbian are available, by Dr Liliana Gracanin from Serbia: https://twitter.com/IAU_srpski ;
- Translations into Japanese are available, carried out by Akihiko Tomita and Mikako Kuwamura through the Astronomy Translation Network: http://bit.ly/2xlNyCR. If you want to receive the Japanese newsletter translation, please subscribe to the Japanese Amateur Astronomers Association here: http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html, or the Japanese Society for Education and Popularization of Astronomy here: http://www.tenkyo.net/;
- Translations into Galician are available, by Agrupación Astronómica Coruñesa Ío, in Spain here: http://agrupacionio.com/gl/tag/boletin-iau
- Translations into Spanish are available by:
- Emílio Zuniga, The Association of Amateur Astronomers from León, Nicaragua: http://asafile.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_12.html;
- Basilio Solís-Castillo, Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, University of Bonn: http://astronomia-para-todos.blogspot.de.
If you are interested in translating our newsletter into your language, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
10) Contributions to the IAU Outreach Newsletter—looking forward to hearing from you in 2018
Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we’re always looking for news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. Please continue to share your stories with us in 2018! If you are organising large-scale events at a regional or international level, offering astronomy education or communication job positions, have any innovative projects or inspiring stories, looking for professional–amateur collaboration in astronomy, or have created any educational resources, let us know by sending an email to outreach@iau.org.
