Last year Universe Awareness organised 240 activities around the world to help educate and inspire children with the wonders of the cosmos. This year, we aim to reach even more! Already dozens of UNAWE events have taken place across the globe this year.
In February, the first Space Scoop Storytelling activity took place at the British School of the Hague (the Netherlands). During the one day workshop two classes of 25 children, aged 8-9, took part in the Space Scoop Storytelling and Universe in One Hour activities. The aim was to get children familiar with a number of “hot” astronomical subjects (e.g. exo-planets, pulsars and black holes) and science journalism, improve the creative thinking and literacy skills and teach them the benefits of teamwork.
Both the children and teachers deemed the day a tremendous success; the team found the activities to be perfectly suited for the age-range in attendance, the topics covered were challenging enough to be interesting and educationally worth-while for the children, but understandable. Each class took part in a question and answer session with the team that hosted the event: UNAWE members Sarah Roberts, Erik Arends and Mason Carney. These sessions were particularly stimulating and all of the children were eager to get involved.
More recently, on the 19 April, members of the Shiraz Astronomical Society (ShAS) hosted an astronomy event in Shiraz, Iran, as part of the country's National Astronomy Day. In addition to many other outreach events being held by a number of astronomical organisations all over the country, the event offered a number of exciting activities for any interested members of the public. The goal of the event was to inspire as many people as possible with astronomy, hopefully leaving behind a trail of science lovers. Activities included an astronomical photo exhibition, observing the Sun, Moon and planets and broadcasting astronomy-themed films. Additionally the team offered astronomical painting and face paints for children.
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