Can a subject as old as time inspire today’s students to follow tomorrow’s career prospects?
Touching the Stars is a new hands-on astronomy and science education program that hopes to spark students interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.
Produced by the Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society, the program adds to the science curriculum of area schools.
The program is funded by the Victoria Foundation.
“Their funding kick-started the whole program. We couldn’t have done it without their help,” said Lauri Roche, an astronomy educator and a member of the board of directors at the Society. “The funding allowed the society to hire one full-time person, which in turn made the program possible.”
She says as soon as the program was announced, the reception from educators at schools was immediate.
“We were inundated by requests in a week.”
The program is available to students from kindergarten to Grade 12. It is offered in the Greater Victoria, Sooke and Saanich school districts and private schools.
Moreover, they are also open to taking in students who are home-schooled.
The program involves a presentation at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Centre of the Universe, the facility’s programming and visitor centre.
The program can accommodate two classes a day, Tuesday to Friday, for a total of eight classes a week.
Since the program’s inception earlier this year, more than 800 students have been exposed to the program.
The program is school-grade specific, with the younger children given a curriculum based more on astronomy. Older children receive a stronger foundation in mathematics and science to develop critical-thinking skills.
The project is especially interested in reaching populations of students under-represented in the sciences.
“We want to make the program as assessable as we can, making sure than affordability isn’t a barrier to participation,” said Roche. “We want to offer the program for all, especially to appeal to children with less opportunity.”
Currently, the society charges $40 per class, which works out to about $2 per child.
While most educators can find that amount in their budgets to cover the cost, Roche says that the next obstacle for administrators is to find money to cover the cost of transportation of the class to the observatory.
With the initial success of the program, the Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society is now working on making it available online, making it accessible to students on the Island and in northern B.C.
For some students, their journey to the stars starts here.
For more information, go to thecentreoftheuniverse.net.
