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