IAU Outreach Newsletter

February 2013

01/02/2013

In this newsletter:

1. First Announcement: CAP 2013 Conference
2. British Science Association Media Fellowships
3. UNAWE 2012 Impact Figures
4. Get your free copy of ‘Max Goes to the Moon’ from UNOOSA
5. STEM programme “Here, There, and Everywhere”
6. Telescopes to Tanzania: Project update on Astronomy.com
7. Upcoming EPO events

1. First Announcement: CAP 2013 Conference

Details about the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) 2013 conference have been released. CAP 2013 will be held in Warsaw, Poland, 14-18 October 2013. As the venue for the conference is a modern planetarium, there will be a special focus on audiovisual and multimedia communications. Other
highlights of the rich programme include how IAU initiatives are helping formal and informal education in the developing world, and outreach opportunities for the CAP community during in International Year of Light 2015.

First announcement: http://goo.gl/zxCLx


2. British Science Association Media Fellowships

If you are a practising researcher then the Media Fellowships scheme is for you. A Media Fellow experiences first-hand how science is reported by spending 3-6 weeks on a summer placement in press, broadcast or online journalism. They work with professional journalists to produce well informed, newsworthy pieces about developments in science. The Fellows come away better equipped to
communicate their research to the media, public and their colleagues. They develop writing skills that could help produce concise and engaging articles and funding applications.
Application deadline: 11 March 2013

Website: http://goo.gl/wJISp


3. UNAWE 2012 Impact Figures

The Universe Awareness (UNAWE) International Office has gathered data from the national UNAWE projects about activities held in 2012. They were polled on how many teachers and children they have educated and inspired, which activities were carried out and how many invited schools held UNAWE events.
The results are displayed in an attractive infographic, which can be viewed on the organisation’s website.

More info: www.unawe.org/updates/unawe-update-1304/


4. Get your free copy of ‘Max Goes to the Moon’ from UNOOSA

Educators are invited to apply for one free copy of the space adventure book for children, ‘Max Goes to the Moon’. This was the first children’s book to be read aloud in space, by Astronaut Alvin Drew aboard the final mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery. If you have a planetarium in your region, you can
also obtain materials for the ‘Max Goes to the Moon’ planetarium show at no cost. Contact the author, Jeffrey Bennett, for more information (www.jeffreybennett.com).

The books have been donated by Bennett and are provided to educators by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. To order your book, pleaseemail your full address to to Romana.Kofler@unoosa.org or Hans.Haubold@unvienna.org

Alvin Drew reading from space: http://goo.gl/AeAqo Book website: www.BigKidScience.com


5. STEM programme “Here, There, and Everywhere”

“Here, There, and Everywhere” (HTE) is a NASA-funded programme that consists of a series of exhibitions, posters and supporting hands-on activities (in English and Spanish) that use analogies from everyday life to help teach science, engineering, and technology (STEM). The target audience is small
community centres, libraries and under-resourced small science centres. The purpose of the programme is to demonstrate the universality of physical laws and the connection between our everyday world and the Universe as a whole. Watch video podcasts, read blogs, see activity demonstrations and find out more on the HTE project website. Educators may request limited copies of free, large-format posters for display (available in English or Spanish).

Website: http://hte.si.edu

6. Telescopes to Tanzania: Project update on Astronomy.com

The Astronomers Without Borders’ project ‘Telescopes to Tanzania’ gained valuable publicity last month with a blog post on the website for Astronomy Magazine.

Blog post: http://goo.gl/1i11u


7. Upcoming EPO events

7a) IMERSA Summit 2013 & Professional Development Seminars, 14-17 Feb, (Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado, USA)
Info on The FullDome Database: www.fddb.org/event/2013-imersa-summit/

7b) AAAS Meeting 2013, 14-18 February
(Boston, USA)
Event website: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/

7c) AAAS: International Teacher-Scientist Partnership Conference
(Boston, USA)
Event website: http://goo.gl/8qrtA