Outreach in Astronomy & Astrophysics

NSF FOCUS grant Faculty-Led OutreachFaculty Coordinator:

Tammy Smecker-Hane, tsmecker@uci.eduGraduate Student Coordinator:Tammy Bosler, tbosler@uci.edu

I. Public Visitor Nights at the UCI Observatory

Tour guides:Smecker-Hane and 8+ undergrad & graduate students

• Visitors tour the observatory, view planets, nebulae, stars and galaxies with our telescopes, see slide show, etc.• 6 per year• Average attendance 400 people

I. Public Visitor Nights at the UCI Observatory

Tour guides:Smecker-Hane and 8+ undergrad & graduate students

• Tour the observatory, view objects, see slide show, etc.• 6 per year• Average attendance 400 people• > 5,000 people for Mars viewing in August, 2003! • Next one is Friday, March 12, 7- 9:30 pm

Another Option:

“Traveling Visitor Nights”

held in the communit

y

II. Tours of the Observa-tory for FOCUS Schools

Tour guides:Graduate Student Coordinator &2+ undergraduate/graduate assistants

• Evening Tours - 3 schools per tour - 150 people - Planets, stars clusters, galaxies • Daytime Tours - 75 students

- Solar system, sun spots & solar

flares

III. Classroom Visits to FOCUS Schools

• Added because of financial & logistical reasons

• Visit multiple classes at a given school

• Bring our unit on the Sun, a slide show, handouts to students & teachers

Staff :One graduate student &2 or more undergraduates

Content varies with the age of the Students:

• “The Earth and the Solar System” – elementary/middle school students

• “Amazing Space: Stars, Galaxies and the Universe” –

high school students

Slide Shows

IV. Teachers’ Workshop in Astronomy & Astrophysics

• Two day-long workshop held each Summer• Features curriculum design, discussion of subject matter & problems/computer exercises to illustrate basic concepts• Material to be given to Teachers includes:

- “The Universe at Your Finger Tips” from NSF/ASP’s Project Astro - Glossy 8x10 photos and posters about galaxy research done w/ Hubble Space Telescope - “Astronomy: Journal to the Cosmic Frontier” from McGraw-Hill

• Discussion of Current Hot Topics • Professional Contacts

Results to Date Over 6000 visitors at 4 public Visitor Nights 127 students for Daytime Observatory Tours 60 students for Evening Observatory Tours 650 students at visits to Individual Schools Currently planning the Teacher’s Workshop

Keys to Success Publicity for Public Visitor Nights Communicating with FOCUS

representatives and teachers Blanket mailing to administrators and

teachers Effective advertisement and

communication using the Observatory web site,http://www.physics.uci.edu/~observat

Keys to Success Faculty Member and numerous

Graduate and Undergraduate Students who contribute time and talent

A full-time graduate student coordinator(2 quarters) is essential