Celebrating Astronomy and Telescopes Related to North East England

This project is designed to raise awareness of the current and historical contributions of the North East of England to international astronomy research and telescope design/engineering. Through this we also aim to inspire young people in the region (primarily ages 7-14), their families and the wider local community to engage more with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). There will be a particular focus on schools and communities situated in areas with high levels of deprivation, which are also known to be associated with particularly low levels of science capital. By telling the stories of local people, local companies and the research institutes situated in the North East, we aim to make the astronomy science and telescope engineering more relatable and to instil a sense of pride in the STEM successes of the region.

We will have three levels of delivery, consisting of 1) co-development of resources with focus groups, 2) targeted delivery of exhibition materials and educational workshops, and 3) a long term legacy plan for dissemination of these resources. Our focus groups will consist of Key Stage 2 & 3 school pupils, their teachers, and community members from three schools in the North East, situated in low socio-economic areas (based on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation). We will create resources in collaboration with these focus groups, and the outreach/education teams from Newcastle's Great North Museum: Hancock, Durham University, and Kielder Observatory in Northumberland (who are our project partners). These resources will include educational school workshops and professional content for a free museum exhibition, both centred around celebrating astronomy and telescopes related to North East England. Through these activities, we have an additional aim to improve the historic record and documentation of the North East's astronomy achievements, engaging school pupils and community members within this process.

Our targeted delivery of these resources will start with a six month museum exhibition hosted by the Great North Museum. This exhibition will include both historical and current astronomical artefacts and information related to astronomy and telescopes in the North East. Alongside this exhibition, we will incorporate the workshops within the Great North Museum, Kielder Observatory, and our own educational school programs. We will then reuse elements of the exhibition for events in Durham, before publicly releasing our digital versions of our resources for use by educators across the region.

Overall, we aim to increase the understanding and appreciation for astronomy in the North East of England, with a particular focus on inspiring school pupils from areas of low socio-economic background to consider STEM subjects.

Marketing to the target audience:

We will utilise our focus groups, consisting of local community members, teachers, and school pupils, to develop the resources for our museum exhibition, alongside educational workshops and lesson plans. The exhibition will be advertised through the Great North Museum's website and social media, and also Newcastle University's communications team. The educational workshops will be advertised to schools across the North East through the Great North Museum's educational program, Newcastle University's outreach team, and Kielder Observatory's educational program in Northumberland. Since Newcastle University is part of the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (NERAP), there will also be an opportunity to advertise our events through their website. We will also utilise our project partner's communications network, in addition to existing educational and science communication networks in the North East (e.g., teacher networks), to advertise our workshops.
To further raise awareness for the museum exhibition, we plan to hold a press launch event for the opening of the exhibition at the Great North Museum. For this event we will invite local politicians and community leaders, astronomers, science communicators, and media to attend and report on the exhibition. We will also ensure elements of the exhibition are made available for future use, and additionally we will make a comprehensive digital record (photos, digital text, etc.).


Raising awareness for other scientists, science communicators, and educators:

We will organise two teacher workshops, delivering bespoke teacher training to Key Stage 2 & 3 teachers from the local area. This will provide teachers with the confidence and knowledge to be able to deliver the educational astronomy workshops we will design, which will be part of the legacy of our project. The Principal Applicant and colleagues will attend outreach/public engagement workshops (e.g., the UKRI Interact outreach symposium), where we will present the project to other astronomers and science communicators (attendance paid for by Newcastle University). This will be beneficial on two levels, firstly to obtain feedback which will help evaluate the project, and secondly to inspire other astronomers/communicators to run similar projects/events, ultimately broadening the impact and legacy of our project.