Teen Astronomy Cafés: Inspiring Students to Pursue STEM through a New Online Program
Abstract
Our world has changed due to COVID-19. As a result, online resources and programs for STEM education have become more prevalent. One of our in-person programs, Teen Astronomy Cafés, where students and astronomers meet to discuss timely science topics, has transitioned to an online forum. The goal of the Teen Astronomy Cafes program is to excite the interest of talented youth in STEM. One Saturday a month during the academic year, high school students interact with astronomers who work with big data. Students learn about killer asteroids, exoplanets, lives and deaths of stars, black holes, structure of the universe, gravitational lensing, dark matter, colliding galaxies and more. The format for each cafe is a short presentation by an astronomer, a computer-based activity and discussion. Students successfully explore the astronomer's research through a Python activity. Typically, over 100 high school students are involved each year with over 30 teachers from 24 school local to Tucson, AZ, USA. Evaluations show positive feedback on their experiences and impressions of STEM.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMED056..07W
- Keywords:
-
- 0810 Post-secondary education;
- EDUCATION;
- 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design;
- EDUCATION;
- 0825 Teaching methods;
- EDUCATION;
- 0845 Instructional tools;
- EDUCATION