[AstroNet] "Essential Astronomy" Outreach Workshop

[Gareth Allison]

"Essential Astronomy" Outreach Workshop


Greetings to the astronet email list
As mentioned before we are preparing for a set of training workshops for 
astronomy education and outreach during June 2008.
Please find below the first call that has also been published on 
www.astronomy2009.org.za
Places for this workshop will be allocated on a first come first served 
basis.
All details below.
We hope to see many of you there.

Spread the word.
Regards
Kevin


*"Essential Astronomy" Outreach Workshop*

The sky remains our biggest and most accessible teaching resource so 
there is always a need to increase the number of people who are able to 
use it effectively.

With this in mind, we launch the first *"Essential Astronomy" Outreach 
Workshop* aimed at training and sharing experiences related to astronomy 
outreach. This will take the form of a packed 2 day experience which 
should leave all participants (a) fascinated by astronomy, and (b) 
better able to convey this fascination to others using the many tools 
and techniques that will be provided

There will be two such workshops held in June 2008 - one in *Cape Town 
(19-20 June at the SAAO)* and one in *Johannesburg (26-27 June at the 
Jhb Observatory)*.

*Workshop Objective*: build the pool of people able to do astronomy outreach

*Target audience*: EPO (education and public outreach) staff from 
national facilities; science centre staff; Department of Education 
officials; university physics students; both professional and amateur 
astronomers; science journalists; astronomy enthusiasts from the public; 
basically anyone keen to be able to promote astronomy.

A special appeal is made to those who have a lot of astronomy outreach 
experience to come share it with the attendees of the workshop and 
provide input into the contents presented.

*Cape Town Workshop: *

Date: 19th - 20th June 2008

Venue: South African Astronomical Observatory, Observatory, Cape Town

*Johannesburg Workshop:*

Date: 26th and 27th June 2008

Venue: Johannesburg Observatory, Observatory, Johannesburg

*Programme*:

*Day 1:*
8:30 Arrival, registration and tea
9:00 Welcome and Introductions / Ice breaker / Purpose / Relevance / 
Audience knowledge of astronomy
9:30 The International Year of Astronomy: Global and local scenes 
(presentation and discussion - to be continued on last day)
10:00 Astronomy in a nutshell: What everyone should know about astronomy
11:00 Tea
11:30 Useful Astronomy Software (participants will get CDs of the software)
12:00 South African Astronomy Resources (from the consolidation efforts 
on www.astronomy2009.org.za)
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Continue previous session
15:00 Relevant International Programmes and Resources (UNAWE, GHOU, 
NASA, ASP, etc)
16:00 tea
16:30 Round up discussions and preparations for night viewing
17:00 Break/supper/socialise
19:00 The night sky: telescope, binocular and naked eye observing (what 
to teach with what you have)
21:00 sleep at will

*Day 2:*
9:30 arrival and tea (late start for the late risers)
10:00 Outdoor exhibits/activities and daytime astronomy
11:00 Tea
11:30 Indigenous astronomy
12:00 Astronomy and the media (press release, phone call, radio 
interview, tv interview, print story, PHOTOGRAPHS, YouTube, Flickr, 
Wikipedia, Facebook, positive stories)
12:30 Lunch
13:30 The "Essential Astronomy Quick Reference Guide to Outreach" (a 
pocket resource for astronomy education and outreach)
14:30 Planning for IYA and astronomy outreach: Open session
16:00 Closure

*Call for contributions*: Patricipants are requested to contribute to 
the resource database and the various items on the programme by sending 
in astronomy materials that they are willing to share with the 
community. Suggestions to improve the impact of this workshop are most 
welcome. (With great appreciation to all those who have already 
contributed)

*Registration:*

To register please send the following details to 
info at astronomy2009.org.za <mailto:info at astronomy2009.org.za>

/In the subject line/ type the word "Register" followed by the city of 
the workshop you would like to attend (Cape Town or Johannesburg) 
followed by your surname e.g. "Register Cape Town Govender"

/In the body/ include the following:

   * Full name
   * Employer / affiliation
   * Email address
   * Postal address
   * Telephone (land line and cellphone)
   * Which days you will be attending (everyone's advised to attend both)
   * Will you be attending the night sky session? (highly recommended)

Once you register you will be given a reference number. If you do not 
have a reference number at the workshop, you may miss out on the food 
and materials!

*Registration Deadline*: 31 May 2008 (register soon as space is limited)* *

*Cost*: There will be no registration fees as we would like to encourage 
as many people as possible to attend. Transport and accommodation will 
of course be at your own expense. Sponsors of lunches and resource kits 
will be announced at the workshop.

*Side Events*: Depending on the interest expressed, the weekends 
immediately after the workshop can be used for a trip to nearby 
astronomical or tourist sites (at own cost). After the Cape Town 
workshop we could organise a special trip to the observatory Sutherland 
(home to the Southern African Large Telescope) and after the 
Johannesburg workshop we could organise a trip to Hartebeesthoek Radio 
Observatory. This will depend on the interest expressed in these side 
events. Costs for such trips will be kept as low as possible and will 
depend on the number of people.

*If you would like any more information regarding 
travel/accommodation/logistics/side events or if you would like a letter 
of invitation please contact kg(at)saao.ac.za 

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