Astronomy to go

The natural sciences give school children their first looks at the mechanisms of nature and a deeper understanding of our world. Astronomy is particularly capable of arousing the curiosity of children. Astronomical phenomena are experienced on a daily basis, but are of an exotic nature for children and demand an explanation. Due to strong light pollution from artificial lights, children growing up within cities and towns rarely have the opportunity to see, for example, the Milky Way. With our proposed project, we will give school children their first contact with the science of the stars and planets. Our main target group contains children and teenagers between the ages of 6 and 14. Our program will be based on planetarium shows that take place an inflatable dome. In this special setting, the children will be particularly inclined to absorb the teaching material presented to them. The planetarium shows will be carried out voluntarily by Masters students, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers from the Department of Astrophysics. This direct contact with young scientists will greatly facilitate the interaction and discussions on the current research and the general scientific process. The planetarium that we will purchase can be carried by hand, and is therefore easily transportable. In combination with a portable projector, we will be able to present the sky in a natural way. With the use of our Sun and our solar system as examples, our presenters will explain the formation and evolution of the stars and planets. Our aim will be to bring school children closer to questions about our origins and the necessary conditions for the emergence of life on planets. These questions are central aspects of our academic FWF-research network (Pathways to Habitability, NFN S116). With the proposed project, we will fulfill an important goal of our long term research: specifically, this is the communication of our research knowledge to the youngest generation. The inflatable planetarium, produced by Starlab, offers space for 27 people and can be setup in any school. The planetarium is also easily accessible to wheelchair users. With a choice from several different projection cylinders, we will be able to offer differently themed shows that can be adapted to the ages of the school children. We intend to use the planetarium once to twice a month in different schools within Vienna and in the surrounding regions. When possible, the planetarium will be used multiple times per day for different classes in each school that we visit. We plan to run the planetarium past the end of the allocated project time; we will therefore make the project cost-neutral and extent to a larger geographical area and possibly also different scientific topics.

Since 2018 the Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna operates a mobile pop-up- planetarium. It is used to support and enhance the teaching of science in schools, especially in the field of astronomy. The software, projector and dome used together have display options which go far beyond what can be reached with simple computer displays. The planetarium shows are not only held by professional astronomers, but also students as part of the operator team. The students are prepared for astronomical public outreach techniques for children in a special university course. The shows are optimized for children aged between 6 - 14 years. Since February 2018, when the school visits started, 38 schools were visited, 241 shows were held and more than 4500 children visited the planetarium in their own school. Besides the school visits, the mobile planetarium also participated in large public outreach events in Vienna and at other locations. There, more than 1700 visitors, children and adults, were able to visit a show additionally. The Department of Astrophysics now has a team of five operators and the lectures preparing more students will still go on in the future.