Astronomy Education at the 2006 General Assembly of the IAU

There is a public misconception that the 2006 General Assembly (GA) of the IAU did nothing other than to demote Pluto. In fact, there were a dozen or more parallel strands. By going to most of the education sessions, I missed most of the sessions on my research interests. And there was always the temptation to go off and explore Prague, which is one of the most interesting cities in the world -- even when inundated with tourists, and with a McDonald's on every corner. In our weekend free time, there was a session and city walk on mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Prague, with everything from Tycho's grave to Einstein's favourite cafe.

There were two special sessions on education and development. One was a two day session on Innovations in Teaching and Learning astronomy; there is a summary available at: http://astro.cas.cz/nuncius/supplement10.html#ros

The proceedings are being edited by Jay Pasachoff (US) and Rosa Maria Ros (Spain) and published by Cambridge University Press.

There was also a two day session on Astronomy for Developing Countries; itis described in the ninth issue of the daily newspaper of the IAU GA at:http://astro.cas.cz/nuncius/nsiii_09.pdf

This will give you a sense of the excellent internal press coverage thatwe had at the GA. It certainly helped us to keep up with the sessionsthat we missed.

In addition, there were some important sessions on Communicating Astronomy,and on plans for International Year of Astronomy 2009 (the 400th anniversaryof the development of the astronomical telescope). But I hope that DennisCrabtree (NRC-HIA) will report on those, since he is a leader in bothefforts. And you can follow the website:http://www.communicatingastronomy.org

One of the forty commissions (interest groups) of the IAU is Commission 46: Education and Development. Its meetings included a half-day session,organized by George Greenstein (US) and Bruce Partridge (US) on the training of astronomers. Several speakers pointed out that the majority of astronomy graduates, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, do notend up in careers in astronomy. This is partly because of the limited number of astronomy positions, and partly because well-trained astronomers have the generic skills to succeed in a wide variety of careers.

One feature of this IAU GA was special events for "young astronomers", which included graduate students and PDFs. The IAU is keen to serve young astronomers, as well as more established ones. There was a very successful lunch at which over 200 young astronomers met with experienced astronomers (such as me) to address concerns which were important to them. Notes were kept, and I look forward to seeing them on the IAU website.

There was also a "consulting service" at which young astronomers could meet one-on-one with experienced astronomers to get advice on professional and career issues.

At the business meeting of Commission 46, Magda Stavinschi (Romania) was elected President, and Rosa Ros (Spain) was elected Vice-President. We thank Jay Pasachoff (US) and Barrie Jones (UK) for filling these two positions, so effectively, in the 2003-2006 triennium. For more information about Commission 46, see our website at: http://physics.open.ac.uk/IAU46/

Canada's representative on IAU Commission 46 is Jayanne English, University of Manitoba, and Chair of the CASCA Education and Outreach Committee. She replaces me in this position.

John Percy (University of Toronto, jpercy@utm.utoronto.ca)

The type and range of programs has increased and the number of participants has steadily increased -- today schools visit the Helen Sawyer Hogg Observatory, families take part in the Family Astronomy and Space Workshops (a series of hands-on programs which features telescope observing and a new take-home project each month), and guest speakers frequently drop by for evening lectures. Most recently the director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope offered a great presentation on that facility and this Fall we will feature “The Future of Spaceflight: Why is the Adventure Crucial to Canada?” (November 25). Highlights from our Discover the Universe programs include “The Moon: Our Closest Neighbour” (September 29), “Ancient Sky Watchers: Egyptians” (October 20), “The Right Telescope for the Budding Astronomer” (November 17). Astronomy courses are also popular including “Backyard Astronomy - Level I” and “Photographing the Night Sky with Your Digital Camera”. Families can take part in “Beginner’s Guide to Astronomy” - a three week mini course. For those who just want to look through a very cool telescope, we bring “Stargazing” - a free scheduled program offered weather permitting.

The Canada Science and Technology Museum continues the long tradition of public astronomy programs as one of our core efforts to improve scientific literacy. The conservation work completed on the 15 inch telescope -- a working artefact and part of our technological heritage, the inauguration of the first Museum programs in January 1975, the dedication of the Helen Sawyer Hogg Observatory in 1989 guarantee continued interest and growth in astronomy today. There are very few institutions with the level of commitment to public education in astronomy in Canada. With the assistance of the RASC, Ottawa Centre we consider our astronomy programs to be one of the Museum’s core contributions and one of the activities that differentiates us from the other national museums. When we move into new facilities in a few years, our astronomy programs will continue to be the focus of our scientific education mandate. Clear skies!