Triennial National Report to IAU Commission 46

Astronomy Education and Outreach in Canada
2002.5 - 2006.0

John R. Percy University of Toronto
Chair: CASCA Education and Outreach Committee

Overview

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is primarily aimed at non-professionals; it has more than 4500 members from all walks of life, and publishes a bi-monthly journal.  Most professional astronomers and graduate students in Canada belong to the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), which has over 500 members.  The Canadian professional astronomical community undertook a major planning exercise in 1999, and this was comprehensively reviewed in 2004.  Education and outreach were key aspects of the plan and the review.  One of the

recommendations of that plan was that 1 percent of the budget of Canada 's major astronomical facilities should be devoted to education and outreach, and we are pursuing that goal.  Unlike in the US , where there are science education funds available through NSF, NASA, and other sources, there are few Canadian agencies which support science education and outreach.  One is the PromoScience program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).  CASCA, the RASC, and some local institutions have obtained support from that source.

CASCA embarked on a major education and outreach initiative in 2001, and this has continued.  This includes a professionally-designed, bilingual education website http://www.cascaeducation.ca which is maintained by a part-time education coordinator who is a high school teacher, and can identify or produce useful content.  This website includes a variety of useful, relevant material for teachers, students, amateur astronomers, and the general public.  One feature is the Canadian Junior Astronomy Program, which provides different levels of engaging extra-curricular activities for young people, anywhere there is Internet access.  In an effort to monitor local needs, CASCA convened meetings of the local "astronomical communities" in Victoria BC and Halifax NS.  There are formal or informal networks around most of the astronomy centres in Canada .

CASCA has recently begun planning for the next phase of its education and outreach initiative -- a “virtual” outreach program.  It will provide high-quality information, images, and graphics for the mass media, and for those many professional and amateur astronomers who give presentations in courses and for the general public.  Through a website AstronomyCanada, it will make this material freely available, including to schools, and the public.

Articles on astronomy education and outreach in Canada are published in CASCA's quarterly newsletter E-Cass www.casca.ca/Links/Newsletter.php and in the Education Notes column in the Journal of the RASC www.rasc.ca/journal/journal.html

Education sessions, including plenary speakers, are part of CASCA's annual conference.

Elementary and Secondary School

Astronomy is typically taught in grades 1 (age 6), 6 (age 11), 9 (age 14) and 12 (age 17), though the curriculum differs from province to province.  CASCA's education website is particularly useful for grade 6 and 9 teachers.  Skyways, an excellent guide for teachers, was written by Mary Lou Whitehorne and published by the RASC.  Skyways was professionally translated into French (and updated in the process) in late 2005, with support from NSERC.  Teachers' workshops are now held

in conjunction with CASCA's annual conferences; the 2005 workshop was so popular that it was repeated on two consecutive days.

Undergraduate and Graduate Education

A number of Canadian universities offer graduate education in astronomy:  the Universities of Victoria, British Columbia (in Vancouver), Alberta (in Edmonton), Calgary, Manitoba (in Winnipeg), Western Ontario (in London), Waterloo, McMaster (in Hamilton), York (in Toronto), Toronto, Queen's (in Kingston), Montreal, McGill (in Montreal), Laval (in Quebec City), and St. Mary's (in Halifax).  CASCA has an active Graduate Student Committee, with representatives from each university.  It organizes meetings and workshops, and advocates on behalf of graduate students.  Across the country, graduate students have a great interest in education and outreach, and make significant contributions at their institutions.  An article on graduate education in astronomy in Canada was published in the 29 August 2003 issue of Science NextWave (now ScienceCareers.org) which is available on-line.

Almost every university offers a course in Introductory Astronomy, usually designed for non-science students, or for a general audience.  Several of Canada 's community colleges -- which specialize in high-level technical and vocational education -- also offer astronomy courses as part of their Liberal Studies program.  Some universities offer courses for science students, and a few offer complete programs in astronomy, or astronomy and physics.  CASCA's education website includes a section on effective teaching at the post-secondary level.

Observatories and Planetaria

There are major planetaria in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal, in addition to several smaller facilities across the country.  They report regularly in the CASCA on-line newsletter E-Cass.  Regrettably, there is no major planetarium in Toronto after the closing of the McLaughlin Planetarium in 1995, though the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto has astronomy exhibits and programs, and has several astronomers on staff.  Supported by Heritage Canada , the five major planetaria have collaborated in producing shows on Origins and on

Astrobiology.  More than 50,000 people viewed the Origins show, within a few months.  More than 800,000 people visit Canadian planetariums each year.  There is a Planetarium Association of Canada, and also a Canadian Association of Science Centres.

The National Research Council (NRC) Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, in Victoria, opened a visitor centre "Centre of the Universe" in 2001, which has diverse, popular programs, including a small planetarium, and interactive exhibits.  The adjacent 1.8m telescope plays an important role in programming and, thanks to volunteers, is open for sky viewing on many summer nights.

There is also a visitor centre at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Penticton BC, which attracts almost 10,000 visitors a year.  It has exhibits, presentations, and an annual open house; it also provides resources for schools and communities in the area, and produces a weekly newspaper column (by Ken Tapping) that is widely read.

Since mid-2003 NRC-HIA has made these popular weekly articles on astronomy available in both official languages on both the main NRC web site and on HIA's; see http://hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/spot/skygazing_e.html or http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/randd/education/astronomy_e.html .

In 1999-2000 NRC's Margaret Kennedy, Stephanie Coté and Jim Hesser prepared in collaboration with Teach magazine a large, bilingual poster, Canadian Skies, with activities linked to science curricula across Canada that has been distributed to thousands of schools. In March 2004 Canadian Skies and its associated educational activities were made available on NRC's web site: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/education/canadianskies_e.shtml.

In late 2005, it was revised and updated.

NRC's Creative Services and HIA-CU partnered with Heritage Canada's Virtual Museum Project involving 18 organizations in Australia, Canada and the U.S. to produce the bilingual website, "Cosmic Quest: Discovering Astronomy through Science and Culture".  This site went public in early 2004 and may be found at:

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Cosmos/english/rover/

Canada 's off-shore facilities that are partially funded by NRC contributions have increased their E/PO activities, as described on their web sites: 

 

These include HOKU, an on-lineastronomy newsletter begun in 2001 by CFHT personnel for educators and parents. The production by the Gemini E/PO staff, and distribution by the Canadian Gemini Office, of Gemini virtual tours on CD-ROM (also available as an interactive exhibit at CU), and the beautiful CFHT calendars and posters are also notable.

Amateur Astronomy

The RASC has 27 Centres across the country, and over 4500 members.  This reflects the continuing popularity of astronomy in Canada .  There are also over 60 independent clubs.  Among other things, they organize over 20 major star parties, including StarFest, in Ontario, which attracts up to 1000 participants.  The Federation des Astronomes Amateurs du Québec (http://www2.globetrotter.net/faaq/)

is a consortium of over 30 clubs, with over 1400 members, in the province of Québec.  The RASC publishes the Journal of the RASC which, for many years, has

sought a balance between the needs of its largely non-professional readers, and its aim to also provide a forum for Canadian astronomy at large.

Public Education and Outreach

Almost every university astronomy group has programs for the public, including lectures and observatory tours.  The University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics celebrated its 100th birthday by organizing a series of four major public lectures, attended by over 4000 people.  The University of Western Ontario has received funding to create an in-depth outreach program that will operate all year CASCA has continued its CASCA-Westar Visiting Lecture Program, which sends experienced astronomer-educators to smaller centres which do not have local astronomy resources.  Two visits were to First-Nations (aboriginal) communities.

The RASC has an extensive and varied program of public education which reaches over 100,000 Canadians annually, through a wide variety of programs, many of them in partnership with other local organizations. The RASC was the 2003 winner of NSERC's Michael Smith Award for excellence in science outreach.

Astronomy is also well-represented in the Canadian news media.  The achievements of Canadian astronomers are well reported (in two recent surveys, Canada ranked #1 in the world in astronomy research productivity).  Terence Dickinson and Dan Falk are known for their books and articles, and SkyNews magazine, edited by Terence Dickinson, provides high-quality articles and images for those with a special interest in astronomy.  Discovery Channel Canada regularly covers astronomical and space topics, with some emphasis on those involving Canadians.  It appears that the number of Canadian newspapers now having star charts and other astronomical information has declined somewhat, after a long history of successful astronomy outreach through this medium.  A speculation that modern, largely urban Canadians are losing contact with the night skies, likely due to not being able to see them properly, is perhaps borne out by news stories about the amazing sights to be seen during an electricity blackout in August 2003 -- the largest such blackout in North American history.

The International Dark-Sky Association has chapters and individual members active in Canada , and several Dark Sky Preserves have been established.

In 2004, the late Helen Sawyer Hogg, founding president of CASCA and a leader in public education in astronomy, was inducted into the Canadian Science and Technology Hall of Fame.

Many of the most successful public programs are local partnerships of the "astronomical community" -- professional and amateur astronomers, planetariums and science centres, and school teachers.  CASCA, along with these partners, has begun planning for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy.