This lunch session aims provide us the opportunity to reflect on the current state of astronomy education throughout Europe and explore strategies for the future. The session, driven by the EAAE (European Association for Astronmy Education) and NASE (Network for Astronomy School Education), will bring together experts and educators to examine the challenges and opportunities facing astronomy education today. The EAAE was born 30 years ago from ESO (European Southern Observatory) auspicis and NASE was born 15 years ago from IAU and is part of Key Programs of IAU (International Astronomical Union).

The objective of the session is to evaluate how astronomy is taught at different educational levels, discuss the role of international collaborations such as EAAE and NASE, and identify ways of strengthening and expanding astronomy education in primary and secondary schools. Participants will participate in discussions about the latest research, best practices and the development of new resources, with an approach to ensure that future generations of students and educators are well equipped to get involved with astronomy.

The session hopes to gather a wide range of educators, researchers and institutional representatives to discuss current challenges and opportunities in astronomy education. We will be also interested to hear from key organizations such as the ESO Educational Office, the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) from ESA, Office of Astronomy for Education from IAU and other institutions with dedicated astronomy education programs.

Additionally, the session will emphasize the importance of making astronomy accessible to a broader range of communities, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and other underrepresented groups. We will explore strategies for adapting educational resources and methods to ensure inclusivity and diversity in the teaching of astronomy.

Through a combination of discussions, workshops, and collaborative activities, participants will be encouraged to share their experiences, best practices, and innovative ideas. The session will serve as a platform to forge new collaborations and chart a path forward for the future of astronomy education in Europe, ensuring that it remains relevant and impactful for all audiences.

Ultimately, this session aims to foster a collaborative environment where participants can share experiences, develop new ideas, and chart a path for the next decade of astronomy education in Europe.

Programme

The session will begin with a brief summary of the history of the EAAE over the 30 years of its existence and the 15 years of NASE, presenting its main objective, which has been (and is) the training in Astronomy of the new generations of teachers and the re-education of the current ones. Our objectives are: Teaching Astronomy to teachers and Teaching teachers to teach Astronomy. Next, experts in the teaching of Astronomy will talk about its teaching in secondary education, in universities and other centers. There will also be a presentation where the work of inclusive Astronomy will be discussed, in this case for blind people. Brief presentations by the participants. Poster colloquium.

Invited speakers

• Rosa María Ros-Ferré: NASE President and EAAE Honorary President (Confirmed)
and Ederlinda Viñuales-Gavín: President of EAAE and Treasurer of NASE (To be confirmed) "Promoting training teachers in Astronomy"
• Enrique Pérez-Montero, IAA-CSIC (Confirmed). "Astroaccesible: an inclusive outreach project for Blind and visually impaired people with benefits for everyone" (Confirmed)
• Helen Usher. Faulkes Telescope Project (UK) associate. Open University (Confirmed). "On a Mission: Pro-Am-Schools Collaborations in Small Body Research".
• Sarunas Mikolaitis, Vilnius University (Confirmed). "MW-Gaia Educational Activities and the Legacy".
• Elsa Moreira. Ilídio.A Costa, Planetarium of Porto and Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (PT) (Confirmed). "CoAstro: using citizen science to democratize astronomical literacy".
• Paul Nugent (IRL) (To be Confirmed). "A resource network for Teachers".

Scientific organisers


• Rosa María Ros Ferré (NASE president and EAAE Honorary president)
• Carlos Viscasilas Vázquez (Vilnius University)
• Sarunas Mikolaitis (Vilnius University)
• Paul Nuguet
• Ederlinda Viñuales Gavín (President of EAAE).

Contact


ederlinda.vinuales @ gmail.com

Updated on Tue Mar 11 19:21:55 CET 2025

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