Speaker
Description
The adoption of the cascade approach by the AFAS education and outreach committee in the promulgation of the science of astronomy has been essential in the development of astronomy in Lejja, Nigeria. This project engaged 280 science senior secondary school students and 15 teachers at Community Secondary School and Federal Government Secondary School, both in rural Lejja, Enugu State, Nigeria. The project at the different schools adopted a workshop approach with lectures and hands-on sessions. The workshop lectures were on the observable universe, observational astronomy, the electromagnetic spectrum, the solar system planets, women in space science, and careers in astronomy and space science. The hands-on sessions of the project were on solar system modelling, building of optical telescopes using locally available materials, coupling of Galileoscopes, building of locally made spectroscopes, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) using the vanishing and appearing sources during a century of observations (VASCO). The project was crowned with a planetarium show designed to educate and inspire the participants about the wonders of astronomy. The project outcomes were measured using pre- and post-surveys. The cumulative pre-workshop survey showed 26% knowledge about astronomy and space sciences, while the post-workshop survey was 80%. The project survey showed a significant 54% increase in knowledge of astronomy and space sciences. Through the post-survey, there was over 50% increased interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields amongst the participants. The outcomes of this workshop showed that the science of astronomy is acceptable to all, and through a cascade approach, the knowledge gained is disseminated, empowering both educators and students alike.
| Stream | Education Development and Outreach |
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