In this Newsletter, you will find many opportunities to engage with the public and your colleagues. In particular, the Office for Astronomy Outreach has relaunched the Meet the IAU Astronomers! programme. Please sign up to bring an IAU member astronomer to your virtual or in-person events. Our team will carefully curate an outreach experience for you that fits your needs and interests.
To all educators: please consider submitting an abstract for the Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, and provide your feedback for the upcoming AstroEDU conference. Your work is so deeply important; it should be shared with the world.
There are also a number of opportunities to connect, and ways to improve your practice. We hope you take advantage of these and share your experiences with us.
As always, we want to specifically thank our National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) for the incredible work they do to promote astronomy in their countries. In fact, one of our NOCs, Meriem El Yajouri (Morocco), has been recognized for her work in astronomy communication in Morocco. We could not be more proud as we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Meriem and the entire NOC Morocco team.
May your skies be dark and quiet,
Kelly Blumenthal, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
Meet the IAU Astronomers! Programme Relaunched
Through the Meet the IAU Astronomers! programme, amateur astronomers, informal educators, and teachers can request virtual or in-person events where IAU members can speak with members of the public about their astronomical research, the importance of astronomy for society, and choosing astronomy as a career. The programme aims to enable any community to meet a professional astronomer, no matter where they are in the world.
Amateur astronomers, informal educators, and teachers: if you are interested in hosting an IAU member astronomer for a talk please fill out this form.
Please make sure to submit your form at least three weeks before your preferred event date. If you have any issues accessing the form or prefer an alternative way of submitting your information, please get in touch at meet.astronomers@oao.iau.org.
2) Abstract Submission Open for the Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education
Abstract submission is now open for the Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education this 15-17 November. The workshop topic is “leveraging the potential of astronomy for formal education”. In particular, this workshop will tackle the questions: How do we teach astronomy? What is astronomy’s role in teaching physics, chemistry, or climate change? For more information, click here. To submit an abstract, suggest a speaker, and register for the workshop, click here.
3) AstroEDU 2023 Conference Organisers Seeking Feedback
The organisers of AstroEdu 2023 are looking for feedback on the best format for the conference, given their goal of making it accessible, equitable, and climate-friendly. Please fill out this short survey to register your opinion. For more information about AstroEdu, see this link.
4) STEAM-Med Workshop from OAE Center Italy
The OAE Center Italy has organised an in-person workshop, STEAM-Med, with roughly 30 representatives from the Mediterranean to discuss primary and secondary science education, with a focus on student-centred learning. For more information, see this link.
5) Heising-Simons Foundation funds IAU and AUI
The IAU and the AUI have been awarded $126,500 from the Heising-Simons Foundation to support the Women and Girls in Astronomy Project and the IAU Junior Member Travel Grant Fund. For more information, see this link.
6) Updates from the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs)
a) NOC Bahrain
The NOC Bahrain, Myriam Alqassab, organised a series of events in honour of Asteroid Day on 30 June, including an asteroid drawing activity. You can see their drawings here and watch a video summarising their events here.
b) NOC Haiti
The NOC Haiti team organised an event in honour of Asteroid Day on 30 June and produces a video showcasing their activities. In addition, thanks to the work of #NOCHaiti team member, John Masken Larose, the latest episode of Géologie et Astronomy en Haïti is up! You can watch it, and his other episodes on their YouTube channel.
c) NOC Kuwait
The NOC Kuwait, Khaled A Al-jamaan, continues his Little Astronomer workshops this month. Children ages 7 to 11 learned about the Sun and its importance by observing it through solar telescopes.
d) NOC Morocco
The NOC Morocco team, including Prof. Hassan Darhmaoui, helped to organise the 10th edition of the Astronomy Festival of Ifrane. Astronomers, amateurs, educators and astrophotographers shared their passion for astronomy through activities, educational workshops, and stargazing sessions. Our NOC Morocco, Meriem El Yajouri, has also been recognized for her incredible contributions to promoting astronomy in Morocco! In addition, a member of the NOC Morocco team, El Mehdi Essaidi, has teamed up with local associations for children with disabilities in Tiznit Province to work on raising awareness within the framework of inclusive education.
e) NOC Venezuela
Our NOC Venezuela, Angel Diaz, has begun an astronomical outreach bulletin. You can find more updates from Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía’s (CITA) Department for Scientific and Astronomic Outreach and Venezuela’s community of amateur astronomers here and here.
7) Opportunities
a) IAU Inclusive Astronomy Outreach SubWG Webinar
The IAU Inclusive Outreach subWorkgroup organises a community of practice webinar on Inclusive Astronomy for outreach practitioners, amateur astronomers, and anyone interested in the topic. The deadline to submit a presentation is 10 July. Sign up here today.
b) INGSA-Africa Mentorship Programme
The International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), Africa chapter, aims to support researchers in science fields as they learn to better communicate their science to the public and to advance policy. Prospective mentors should be leaders in their fields with substantial experience in science communication. Find out more here.
c) Japan SciComm Forum Social
Join the Japan SciComm Forum for a 90-minute online event in which leaders from the field of science communication will share their experiences. The next social will take place on 22 July at 10am UTC and will focus on using social media for science communication. For more information and to register for the event, go to their website.
8) Cool Resources
a) Talk Back Better: Six Takeaways on Science Communication [Content in English]
The International Science Council recently concluded a webinar on science communication. In this article, host Nick Ishmael-Perkins sums up his top six most important takeaways from the series. Check them out here to see how you can incorporate them into your astronomy communication practice.
b) New App Offers AR Exploration of Historical Women in Astronomy [Content in English]
The app, Reach Across The Stars (https://chandra.si.edu/women/ar/), allows users to enter into an augmented reality (AR) and interactive experience as they learn about historical women in astronomy. To find out more about the women featured in the app, and the app itself, click here.
c) The Science of Stories and the Stories of Science [Content in English]
In this article, you will find a description of the science behind storytelling, how it enables communication, and how it can be used for science communication. Click here for more information.
d) The Queer Variable: Interviews with Insightful LGBTQ+ People in STEM [Content in English]
This free online book presents the experiences and perspectives of LGBTQI+ people working in STEM through a set of 40 interviews. Of the collection, the book's co-curator, Dr Shaun O’Boyle, says “We hope that LGBTQ+ people who are studying STEM subjects or working in STEM fields will find stories in this book that they can relate to and learn from. We hope that by sharing these stories, it well [sic] help someone else navigate the world of STEM as an LGBTQ+ person.”
9) IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in Non-English Languages
Our newsletter is being translated into the following languages:
Arabic
Translations are thanks to the members of the Bahrain Stargazers Astronomy Club.
Chinese (Simplified)
Translations are thanks to Dr Chen Cao, Shandong Astronomical Society (SDAS) of China.
Portuguese (European)
Translations are thanks to Catarina Leote and João Ferreira through the Astronomy Translation Network Portuguese Language Group.
Spanish
Translations are thanks to Andrea Ahumada of the Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and Ileana Andruchow of the Instituto Astrofísica de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. For translations of previous Newsletters in Spanish, thanks to Emílio Zuniga of the Association of Amateur Astronomers in León, Nicaragua, click here.
If you are interested in translating the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter into your language, please email public@oao.iau.org.
10) Contribute to the IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We are always looking for material about astronomy outreach, communication and public engagement from around the world to include in our next IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter. If you have an astronomical event, job, opportunity, educational resource, or anything else that would be of interest to the astronomy outreach community, send us an email at public@oao.iau.org with more information.
Please send us your suggestions through the 4th for issue #1 and the 17th for issue #2 of each month. We look forward to hearing from you!
