Bringing Science & Astronomy to you
Astronomy Ireland’s Education Officers travel around Ireland giving talks on astronomy as part of our new Education Programme. This programme has gained great success to date.
David Moore Astronomy Ireland Chairman is also available for School Visits (currently depends on HSE Guidelines).
The Programme is aimed towards groups in the general public, such as schools (primary and secondary), social clubs, youth clubs, community meetings and any other group that would be interested in learning more about astronomy. Astronomy is a very accessible hobby and science and plays a very important and fundamental part in our lives. The aim of this Initiative is to promote astronomy and science and to help build a science culture for Ireland.
This exciting project involves a talk given to your group lasting approximately 40 mins with time for a question and answer session at the end. The talk can be tailored to suit your needs using the following criteria:
- Age group
- Subject knowledge
- Level of interest
The Education Officer will be contactable prior to the talk itself to discuss topics and areas of particular interest, and to address comments and queries you might have. The Officer will be able to forward you relevant information about the talk so you can give your group an overview of what will be involved. The talk itself will cover topics such as planets and their moons, comets and other Solar System objects, and our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Depending on interest, talks can include the history of astronomy, astrophotography, planets around other stars and black holes. Following the talk, attendees are invited to ask questions about the topics covered, and, indeed, on any topic of astronomy.
For schools, our Officers can facilitate two talks to cater for the school timetable. This can be divided into different age groups, for example.
Advantages of this Initiative
- Fun and educational
- People of all ages are fascinated by planets, stars and comets – this is an opportunity to understand them
- Astronomy is part of everyone’s everyday life, whether they recognise this or not
- The Initiative adds to peoples’ knowledge of science and nature
- Hosting an astronomy talk can help your primary school receive an Award of Science & Maths Excellence 2011
The talks that Astronomy Ireland provides act as an accessible gateway to science for young children. By showing them some of the science behind the stars and planets we hope to inspire a life-long interest in astronomy and science in Irish children.