If you’re not a science minded person who’s plugged into all things spacey, then maybe this item has passed you by. 2009 has been named the International Year of Astronomy. In 1609, Galileo pointed his telescope at the sky, wrote a few things down, and all sorts of chaos ensued. 400 years later, it was decided to have a party in his honour!
One of the projects of the IYA2009 group was to have a series of podcasts called 365 Days of Astronomy. The idea is for people all over the world to contribute and share podcasts on topics astronomical. There are tons of different topics within the umbrella of astronomy, and this podcast gives folks a chance to share some of their interests with the world.
Enter me.
I’ve not podcasted before. I don’t work at as an astronomer. I’m a science teacher by trade with a freakishly large love of astronomy. I’ve written curriculum for a senior level astronomy course in Ontario, Canada that IMHO filled a gap in the slate of courses. I own a garage full of telescopes (well 4) that don’t get used as often as they should. My mailbox is stuffed with astro mags, and my feed reader gets several astronomy and space feeds filling it each day.
I’m a space geek. I accept that.
So when I started listening to the 365 Days of Astro podcasts, it struck me that it might be a fun thing to contribute to, so I fired off an email to see if there were any days left. A few weeks later, I recieved a reply and I have been assigned July 29th, 2009 as the day for my podcast. Woohoo!
Now what?
I’ve got an idea for a topic, and I’m going to start gathering input, feedback and possibly audio interviews from as many people as I can think of.
My topic for the podcast will be, “Why Teach Astronomy?”
I’ll be bothering my PLN via Twitter and other avenues looking for input, but in the meantime, feel free to add a comment below and answer the question yourself!
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March 5, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Why teach astronomy? Why not! As a middle school teacher, I see astronomy as a gateway topic into science. I’ve never had a student tell me they wished they didn’t have to study the sky, the stars. It’s also an incredibly abstract subject. The distances are so vast. I recall being simply amazed in college when the professor would tell me all about a star–using only the electromagnetic spectrum. Our kids are the same way. We need to foster that wonder and excitement to build upcoming scientists and thinkers.