Astronomy does't have much to offer in the way of practical benefits or applications - it is truly the least mundane of all the physical sciences. Yet public money spent on astronomy is money well spent. Astronomy has a great potential educational and cultural value, because of its historical, philosophical, and (multi)cultural connections; its role as a driver of other sciences and technologies; its own dynamic nature; and its deep philosophical impact - it deals with our cosmic origins, and our place in time and space; it reveals a universe which is vast and beautiful, and at the same time understandable; it harnesses curiosity, imagination, and a sense of shared exploration.

Astronomy can also play an important role in science education. In spite of (or perhaps because of) its lack of worldly applications, it appeals to a broad, receptive audience. It illustrates an observational approach to scientific discovery, and can be used effectively as a framework within which to study many concepts in physical science - light and atoms, gravity and motion, time and space. It is the ultimate inter-disciplinary subject, with rich cross-cultural connections, as well. At a time when public perception of science's role in society is seen to be at low ebb, astronomy retains its tremendous capacity to interest the public in science and technology, and to attract young people to these fields. We do not need to try to produce thousands of new astronomers - but we may use the popularity of astronomy to raise the level of public understanding of major scientific ideas, and to convey some of the beauty and excitement of intellectual discovery. the study of astronomy can provide a lifetime of intellectual reward, in much the same way that music, literature, and the fine arts may do; but astronomy also provides an ideal introduction to the rational, inductive world-view of science.

It is often argued that today's highly technology-dependent society requires its citizens to have some basic level of understanding of science, if they are to make informed decisions about science and technology issues. It is also clear from a number of studies that this basic level of understanding is not present in a majority of the public. If the health of Canadian society depends on its members being able and willing to make rational choices about matters scientific and technological, and they are unable to do so, then one must worry about the future. Astronomy offers some hope. For the reasons given earlier it provides an ideal vehicle for increasing public awareness of science - a doorway into the world of science, if you will; a doorway that is open equally to all and that beckons with grand visions of time and space.

In this light, any new funding for Canadian astronomy can be seen as valuable if it in fact helps lead to greater public understanding of science. (The value of new projects in purely scientific terms is an entirely different matter.) If new initiatives in Canadian astronomy are to help meet this challenge, it is imperative that they include both material and human resources devoted to this end. A comparison with the United States may be useful. There, both the National Science Foundation and NASA have large budgets and staff for education projects; there is no equivalent in Canada. In the US, the national observatories have well-developed outreach programmes and offer curriculum and information materials, funded in part by NSF and NASA, and which are widely used. In Canada, these efforts are largely provided on an ad hoc basis, by volunteers, with whatever funding can be found, and consequently find a more limited audience. If new public money is to be spent on astronomy, then some of that money must be set aside to inform and educate the Canadian public. This education must go beyond simple self-justification, however. It is true that if we hope to obtain even the modest levels of funding under discussion, our projects must be accountable to the public. Since we cannot hope to "pay our way" with material goods or services, we must try to provide the less-tangible benefits of greater science understanding mentioned earlier. If we do this job properly, we not only influence the health of Canadian society, but the health of our own field as well. Some strategies that could be used include:

• working with organizations like the RASC, ASP, and AAS in their education endeavours, and making better use of existing print and electronic media to inform the general public. Canada has a number of good science magazines and radio and television programmes, and good science writers and broadcasters; are we making the best use of these resources?
• making use of the huge number and variety of materials that have already been developed (this should include greater efforts to publicise the availability of these resources). The recent recommendations of the Pan-Canadian Science Protocol for more and better coverage of astronomy in the schools may give us the chance to help develop new curriculum materials.
• ensuring that all Canadian national facilities have dedicated funding and staff for educational purposes. This could include outreach programmes, both physical and "virtual" via the Internet, and the development of curriculum and information material. There should be considerable sharing of ideas and resources between facilities, and with other organizations as mentioned above - each facility needn't re-invent their own wheel. Ideally, similar programmes could be maintained at all Canadian universities with an interest in astronomy, as this would give greater and more geographically diverse coverage, but the funding for such initiatives would have to be sought elsewhere.

Provision should also be made for contributing toward the training of the next generation of Canadian scientists, both in the "traditional" sense of graduate-level and post-doctoral training, and at the undergraduate and public school levels, through summer research opportunites and mentorship programmes such as those in place at several Canadian universities. training such as this would not only help ensure a continuing supply of highly-qualified researchers, bu (in the latter case) could encourage younger students to consider careers in the physical sciences - a choice they might not otherwise have made.

We have been asked to consider what potential do selected astronomy projects have for the cultural development of Canadian society, the science education of our youth, and the training of the next generation of Canadian scientists. Canadian society may benefit from new astronomy initiatives through an increased understanding of science, that could allow more rational discussion of science and technology issues. The science education of our youth may gain by using astronomy as a springboard into the physical sciences, making use of the existing public interest and the interdisciplinary nature of the field. And new astronomy projects have the potential to provide training at introductory and advanced levels by offering research opportunites, both in the science and in education. These are all merely potenialities - they will only be realised if there is a willingness to include them in our plans. The Education Committee of CASCA is gratified to see that the Long-Range Planning Committee is showing that willingness, and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute.

Members of the CASCA Education Committee