Dr Niall SmithCork Institute of Technology Blackrock Castle Observatory
Engaging Communities with Live Space Data
EUSEA Annual Conference 2012
Blackrock Castle Observatory (Cork, Ireland)
• Observatory and Science Centre operated by Cork City Council and Cork Institute of Technology
• Particular interest in STEM education
• Over 200,000 visitors to science centre in 5 years
• Over 50,000 schoolchildren have availed of our workshops (at primary and secondary level)
• Accredited to provide CPD to teachers to use “space” in the classroom
Significant feedback from a wide and varied cohort
• To increase interest in STEM related careers at a time when technology is increasingly commonplace in society
• To develop innovative methods underpinned by inquiry-based education that can reach directly into existing educational systems
• To improve the baseline understanding and acceptance of scientific methods amongst the general public
Why Engage with Communities?
Teachers
Students
Communities
What is “Live Space Data”?
USER
Customised Web Interface
SpacecraftGround-Based
Telescopes
Optical
Radio
Student Public ResearchPrimary / Secondary / Tertiary
“
•Send a message towards a known exoplanet via a small radiotelescope using a real radio signal
•Watch live via a web interface
•Messages can be tracked subsequently using a unique user id
Case Study I - Radio Telescope
Case Study I - Radio Telescope
Permanent live feed from another radio telescope
• Deployment into schools in Cork in autumn
- curriculum links / resource packs / sensors
• Sending a message to space provides a unique context for discussion
- what are stars and planets?
- how far away are the stars?
- how do you make a radio telescope?
- what might alien DNA look like?
Case Study I - Radio Telescope
• The same questions can be discussed according to the user level. • The complexity of the data you receive depends on the user level.
Hugely flexible and very cost-effective
Case Study II - Optical Telescope
• Live imaging using telescope at Chabot Science Center in San Francisco
• 8 hour time difference
• Acts as a catalyst for ideas, conversations, connections
Images taken and processed by 5 schools
Chabot at night Art and Science
Next Phase – Optical Telescope Farms
Remote User 1
Remote User 2
Telescope Control 1 Telescope Control 2
Telescope Control 4
Telescope Control 8
Telescope Control 5
Telescope Control 7
Telescope Control 3
Telescope Control 6
Network Switch
Remote Link
Local Server
Wireless Sensor Array
Enclosure Control
Centres of Excellence in Science Communication
Big Data
Big Data
ResearchCommunities
Cloud
Conclusion
• Now technologically possible to bring live space data into the classroom, the science centre, etc.• Coordination by Centres of Excellence
• Live space data can be customised to the target audience• Especially important for teenagers
• The experience is centred around inquiry / debate / uniqueness
• Encourages discussion across cultural and discipline boundaries
Thankyou
www.bco.ie
