| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Vikranth Pulamathi(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Niruj Mohan Ramanujam(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Rahul Bar(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Venkatesh S.(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Surendharnath S.(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), N. Amoghavarsha(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), K. S. Yashaswini(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Chrisphin Karthick(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Anand M. N.(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), IIA SCOPE Team(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India) |
| Abstract: The Indian Institute of Astrophysics engages with school students in the country in a number of ways, and in this talk, three particular strategies will be highlighted, along with their strengths and challenges.
The key engagement is in-person, and this takes the form of both one-off group visits to our various campuses (typically 15,000 students visit us every year) as well as more structured programs. The latter primarily takes the form of the novel 2-week-long annual Research Experience for School Students (RESS) School, as well as the continuously running Job Shadowing program. It also includes our recent mentoring efforts at starting astronomy clubs in schools and special programs in schools near our remote field stations.
The second framework is through special campaigns, whereby students are engaged in talks and hands-on activities, e.g. the recent extensive campaign on the 7 Sept total lunar eclipse, or the annual Zero Shadow Day or Asteroid Day programs. The eclipse campaign bears special mention, reaching every single school in Tamil Nadu, and will be described in some detail. Teacher Training is another key component, and we will describe some of our efforts in this context.
The third method is through online interactions, which reach students across the country. We will discuss our #SkySCOPE campaign aimed at disseminating accurate information on astronomical events, as well as other online engagement avenues. We will also describe our efforts in creating some of these resources in multiple languages.
In summary, we will describe IIA’s school engagement programs, by its SCOPE section and at its field stations, and discuss our learnings and our future plans. |
