ARTICLES
Astronomy from the Ground up – Parkes, 24th–26th May, 2019 (continued)
These presentations answered several of my aims for the
weekend immediately. I had some resources I was able to use the
following week in class with my Year 7 students during their Solar
System unit. I was able to talk with women in STEM and show my
students that gender does not prevent them from following their
passion for science and astronomy. Besides, I now had some
new contacts to ask those tricky questions that students always
seem to spring on me when they find out I love astronomy.
The weekend continued to impress. I cannot fault the food
provided by the on-site Dish Café. I found it very, very hard to
stick to my diet, and eventually gave up, planning to spend more
time in the gym the following week to make up for it. One of the
major highlights was sitting outside the café and watching the
radio telescope traverse with an excellent coffee in hand. The
Friday night dinner sent me back to my accommodation certain I
The surface of the Parkes Radio Telescope. We’re standing on
the cricket pitch.
wouldn’t need to eat for the next week.
Saturday evening was spent Robert Hollow, learning all the tips
and tricks for hosting an excellent observing evening. We were
able to discuss which telescopes were best, where one should
start when planning for an observing evening, what resources
would be needed on hand, and how to undertake astronomy
risk assessments. We then spent the night chasing planets and
galaxies around the night sky with all the telescopes on hand.
Jane Kaczmarek was able to attend and was pleased to answer
all my questions with regards to career progression, astronomy,
women in science and which coffee in Parkes was the best.
The Astronomy From the Ground Up professional development
opportunity was, even for an astronomy nerd like myself, a
valuable weekend spent finding out so much more about
astronomy in Australia and overseas, and finding some scientists
to show my students that if you can see it, you can definitely be it.
The weekend started with a hayride on The Dish, and it only got
better from there. Even if astronomy isn’t your favourite science,
it’s severely under-represented in the science curriculum. Most
science teachers don’t know very much about it, and therefore
can’t teach it from a position of knowledge. This professional
development opportunity goes a very long way to overcoming
that problem, and I could not recommend it more highly!
Not too many people have looked down this road from this
viewpoint. It’s the original road into The Dish, as seen in the film.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 3