Universe Awareness Newsletter
#1, March 2006
In this issue: Updates on the development of Universe Awareness Pre-pilot Project in Venezuela Universe Awareness Multidisciplinary workshop, October 9 - 13, 2006 Sir Bob Geldof endorses Universe Awareness
Welcome to the first edition of the Universe Awareness Newsletter. This letter was promised for the end of 2005 and it is certainly not the lack of action that has kept us from publishing it, rather the opposite. We hope you enjoy the read and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any remarks.
Updates on the development of Universe Awareness Late 2005, the Universe Awareness website was launched at http://www.UniverseAwareness.org/
The site has since been visited by people from over 30 countries of which The Netherlands, Spain, Tunisia, South Africa, India, Colombia, Venezuela, France, Ireland, Indonesia, Romania, etc.
Things happened fast from there. In January 2006, Dr. Cecilia Scorza de Appl spent two weeks in Venezuela testing the various aspects of Universe Awareness in diverse environments. She first went to Chuao, a village on an island off the Northern coast of Venezuela that can only be reached by boat. There, she showed children astronomical images printed on transparencies. This sparked the kids’ interest and they quickly began to share their own experience of the night sky and the stars.
We have been impressed by the interest people around the globe have shown for the Universe Awareness programme. This underlines the relevance and potential of such an initiative. Thank you all for your interest. Many people across the world who have developed astronomy outreach initiatives for young children have contacted us through the website. This highlights another role UNAWE could and should play: that of a virtual meeting place and network for outreach astronomers. We have been enormously impressed by the resourcefulness and initiatives taken by many people, and we feel there is a need to put them in touch with each other to exchange ideas and experiences.
Pre-pilot Project in Venezuela At the occasion of the meeting of the UNAWE International Steering Committee at UNESCO Headquarters in October 2005, Dr. Cecilia Scorza de Appl contacted the Venezuelan UNESCO delegation. Being a Venezuelan astronomer herself, she presented the UNAWE programme and mentioned the possibility of implementing it in Venezuela. The Venezuelan UNESCO delegation was immediately convinced and offered full support to the project. They decided to start a pre-pilot project immediately.
Photo: © Cecilia Scorza, 2006 She then went to the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía (CIDA) in Mérida where over forty teachers joined her and Mrs Marlene Morales-Sueke, a specialist in local cultures, for a four-day long teacher-training workshop. Primary school teachers were invited by the ministry of education. The workshop was advertised through the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPNet). This very efficient collaboration enabled the teacher training to be well attended, even oversubscribed, at very short notice. The teacher-training days turned out to be a success. It was a great discovery for both teachers and trainers. Teachers were keen and enthusiastic. They asked a number of relevant questions that will help us shape the UNAWE material.
Contact: Dr. Carolina Ödman, Universe Awareness, Leiden Observatory, P.O. Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. Email: odman@strw.leidenuniv.nl