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Experiences from CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory GLORIA Community Open Day May 15 th 2014

Experiences from CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory GLORIA Community Open Day May 15 th 2014. Dr Niall Smith Cork Institute of Technology Blackrock Castle Observatory. Outline of Talk. Why STEM and why astronomy? Target audience What we do at CIT-BCO Case Studies Radio Messages to Space

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Experiences from CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory GLORIA Community Open Day May 15 th 2014

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  1. Experiences from CIT Blackrock Castle ObservatoryGLORIA Community Open DayMay 15th 2014 Dr Niall Smith Cork Institute of Technology Blackrock Castle Observatory

  2. Outline of Talk • Why STEM and why astronomy? • Target audience • What we do at CIT-BCO • Case Studies • Radio Messages to Space • TARA optical telescopes • Conclusions

  3. Why STEM and why astronomy? • 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

  4. Why STEM and why astronomy?

  5. What’s the Global Challenge? • 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 Students Communities Teachers

  6. What’s the Target Audience? Rate of return to investment in human capital Programs targeted towards the earliest years Parents Preschool programs Schooling Job training (Heckman 2007) 0-3 4-5 Post-school School Age “Strong case for funding interventions in early childhood for disadvantaged children”

  7. 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

  8. “ • 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

  9. Case Study I – Message to Space Gathering the Gathering

  10. Case Study I – Message to Space

  11. Case Study I – Provides a Unique Experience • 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? • 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

  12. 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

  13. 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)

  14. Facilitating Live Imaging

  15. The TARA model Local expertise Local expertise Curriculum Curriculum Culture Culture Cultural exchanges Science exchanges Telescope Array Curriculum Culture Local expertise

  16. First Results from California

  17. Why is Global Cooperation Important? “60% of earth’s population will be on internet by 2015” Atomium Culture Conference, Dublin, March 2013 This demands global cooperation Ground-Based Telescopes Language Culture Complexity Focus Customised Web Interface USER Student/Teacher Public Research Primary / Secondary / Tertiary Parents TOO / Time Series

  18. Digital meets Physical 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

  19. Thankyou www.bco.ie

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