Over the New Year's holiday between Dec 28th 2007 and Jan 1st 2008, a dedicated and diverse group of Indonesian astronomers gathered together for a special purpose. Their task was to to carry out the most ambitious phase of UNAWE Indonesia's Pilot programme to date; a 5 day expedition traveling around the Island of Java, bringing astronomy games, activities, movies and opportunities to hundreds of young children and their communities. For many of those visited, this experience was to be their very first introduction to astronomy.
The group of educators came from a variety of backgrounds. They included amateur and professional astronomers, students, teachers and even a journalist from Kompas, Indonesia's largest newspaper. From the outset, this expedition was to be unpredictable. The activities undertaken in each stop along the way would depend upon the enthusiasm of individual communities and the age of the children involved.
On 28 December 2007, the group set off from the the capital of West Java province, heading east to Jogjakarta. Jogjakarta is a unique town, renowned as the centre of Javanese culture and tradition. After 12 hours travel, the team arrived in Jogjakarta ready to rest. Unfortunately, a spate of disastrous floods had devastated the region. In order to visit the first village on the route, the team had to take a long detour. Due to road-blockages, the expedition proceeded slowly and with great caution. Finally the team arrived at Madiun, a city on East Java province.
The reception that greeted the Star Party's arrival in Madiun made all the effort worthwhile. Despite the delay, a crowd of 500 astronomy enthusiasts (more than double the expected number), had gathered to welcome the expedition. They included not just elementary school children, but also many junior high-school students as well.
The team had planned activities for everyone. For the very youngest children, there were games and crafts, drawing and origami. The materials were simple but great fun; kids made their own models of Saturn with just a ball and an old CD. For bigger children there were movies, water rockets, quizzes, a planetarium display and a first introduction to using a telescope.
The following day, the journey continued farther east; to Porong - Sidoarjo, a small village that had become a refugee camp for victims of the mudslides. The scene was grim. The refugees had been housed in what had been a market, now converted into a shelter.
A large banner strung across the road, declared "Do not Disturb! This is our last defense!" There was little clean water available meaning that the refugees were dependent on what supplies could be trucked in. With the future so uncertain, life for these refugees was harrowing.
The team could not set up all its activities and presentations in the camp, but was able to play games and sing with the children, bringing some much needed lightness and fun to a tense and anxious situation. Here you can see the young kids in the refugee camp singing Bintang kecil a traditional children's song about the stars.
Perhaps for a few hours the refugee children of Porong were able to forget the predicament they and their families were in and were reminded instead of the beautiful night sky.
On New Year's eve the team continued to Malang, a city famous for its delicious apples. This time a huge crowd of 700 people were waiting at Elementary School Dinoyo 2!
With so many more children wanting to participate in the activities, the programme took a lot longer to carry out. Then rain struck, forcing the cancellation of the introduction to the telescope and the making of water rockets. Fortunately, the fascinating night sky had everyone curious, so the portable planetarium became the main attraction.
Finally, after every child had experienced at least some of the wonders of astronomy, the exhausted team went to sleep, entirely missing the New Year's celebrations at midnight!
On the first day of the new year, the team traveled back west. After making one stop on Jogjakarta, this time to visit Malioboro, the famous Castle of Jogjakarta it was time to go home.
It was indeed an exhausting journey, but also exhilarating. In just 5 days the group interacted with almost 1500 children, comforting them, playing fun games, sharing knowledge of astronomy. There are many many more children in Indonesia who still have no understanding of the universe. Hopefully, in the future, UNAWE Indonesia will help share the story of the sky to many more children in more and more places across Indonesia.
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