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Universe Awareness Materials workshop |
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Inspiring young children through astronomy with UNAWE
A report of the 3rd UNAWE Multi-Disciplinary workshop
by Avivah Yamani (UNAWE Indonesia)
Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is an international program that aims to inspire disadvantaged children by introducing them to the beauty and grandeur of the universe. Games, songs, group activities, animated movies and internet events all form part of UNAWE's aim to introduce astronomy to very young children. This is done in cooperation with different communities around the world.
UNAWE's target audience are children from 4 to 10 years old. One of UNAWE's goals is to illustrate the multicultural origins of modern astronomy to children, particularly when it pertains to their own culture. By doing this, UNAWE hopes to stimulate their cultural pride, imagination and interest to science. UNAWE's activities are also intended to foster global cooperation and tolerance among children from differing social and cultural backgrounds.
From February 25-27, 2008, UNAWE organized a multi-disciplinary workshop in Leiden, the Netherlands The aim was to compile and share various educational materials and activities that exist within the network. The workshop was attended by 35 participants from 16 countries. Participants from Indonesia, Dr. Premana W. Premadi and Avivah Yamani, brought astronomy games that they have used in their fieldwork with children, most recently in the Trans Java Star Party.
- introduction to the scale of the solar system
- the Sun
- Earth-Moon motion
- introduction to the phases of the Moon
Essentially the approach to the concepts is often similar but differs in focus, materials and methods.
For example, Pratham India's 'Introduction to the phases of the Moon', addresses the misconception that the moon always has the same orientation in relation to the horizon. They illustrated this with images using the exact orientation of the Moon from India, and contrasted this with the inaccurate depiction of the Singaporean Moon on the Singaporean flag, the default position in most educational materials and so on..
Meanwhile, participants from Venezuela delivered their 'Phases of the Moon' in a shoe-box with the 'Moon' lit from within by a torch. To observe the different phases, the observer looks through holes in the box's four sides.
The same approach also applies with other subjects such as the introduction to planets and imparting a sense of their scale. Some introduced the subject through pictures, others used varying sizes of spheres and even others with fruits and seeds!
One interesting material that was presented tackled the question of how to introduce astronomy to the visually-impaired. In this case textured pictures become the choice so that children can touch and feel to differentiate the patterns of planetary and lunar surfaces.
Another presented material modeled the formation of craters by using layers of flour and chocolate powder in a box. The powder is the surface of a planet and craters are formed by throwing or dropping balls of various sizes from various angles. Thus, we can see the depth and shape of the formed craters. In addition to this, plastic parachutes are then attached to the falling balls( reducing their speed and impact), introducing the role the atmosphere plays in protecting the earth. This experiment demonstrated the formation of craters by meteorite impact on the surface of a planet, both with and without atmosphere.
Outside the solar system, there are also other subjects and other materials to explore, for example a model for galaxy formation.
Children observe the form of a galaxy made from dry sand finely strewn over a water-filled glass container. The water is then agitated in a circular motion and then illuminated by a light shone from a projector. We can see the form of a spiral galaxy as a result. Such an experiment illustrates how a simple method can be so effective when introducing the complex concepts of astronomy.
Other innovations included the making of a cheap portable planetarium. Participants from Spain built their own portable planetarium by using cut cardboard boxes, while Indonesian participants made one using an umbrella frame and parachute material.
 Astronomy Games were also a popular subject of discussion. Indonesia presented their card games, as well as a version of 'astronomy snakes and ladders'. These were enthusiastically received by the other participants. The idea is to take typical children's games and modify them with astronomical pictures and in doing so introduce children to a whole new world through the images. Aside from presenting their games and a documentary about the process of building a portable planetarium, participants from Indonesia also played a video of their recent 'Trans-Java Star Party' that traveled to Madiun, Porong, and Malang. Participants at the workshop were particularly affected by watching the video taken in a refugee camp of kindergarten children singing "Bintang Kecil"("Little Star," an Indonesian version of Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star). These children had been displaced after their houses had been washed away by the Lapindo mudslide.
Aside from models, activities and games, introducing astronomy through electronic media is another possibility. Spreading astronomy through Youtube, Skype, and online communities can be an effective and useful method in distributing information across borders. Successful attempts have included simultaneous observations of the 2008 February 21th lunar eclipse through Skypecast from The Netherlands, South Aftica, and Bermuda. Youtube is also regularly being used to broadcast videos of UNAWE activities from various countries.
If we speak about technology of course we can not forget about astronomical software. In this workshop we also discussed
various astronomical freeware that can be used as tools in introducing astronomy to young children, such as Stellarium, Celestia, and Google Sky.
Introducing astronomy to the children can also be done through puppetry, as demonstrated by Lara Albanse from Florence, Italy. Inspired by the wayang of Indonesia(a form of shadow puppetry),she made a puppet stage with movable puppets just like the wayang, based upon Chinese mythological stories about the sky. This is not surprising since there are many Chinese immigrants in Florence.
At the end of the workshop we summarized all materials that were presented and evaluated which materials were not only useful, but also low cost, environmentally friendly and safe for children. These top materials can then be used as global materials for UNAWE and distributed in a box named "Universe in the Box" to children across the world.
In order to do this, several working groups for the materials in the form of games, models, field and room activities, books and posters were formed. Materials and models put into the "Universe in the Box" will be distributed in the year 2009 in conjunction with the beginning of the International Year of Astronomy with UNAWE as one of the cornerstone projects of IYA 2009.
Ivie is an astronomer and educator in science, actively writing in
Langitselatan and Netsains. She finished her Bachelor's and Masters degrees at the Department of Astronomy, Bandung Institute of Technology.
Her research
interests are the Solar System and Extrasolar planets especially planetary
dynamics. She is also involved in the Solar System Research Group in the
Department of Astronomy, specializing in the formation of the Solar System and
Extrasolar Planets.
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UNAWE is a global cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy
Universe Awareness is affiliated with the International Astronomical Union.
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