New Zealand Updates, pt II

Better get this update out before too much else happens!

I arrived in Wellington just over three weeks ago, and again have accomplished a lot in a very short amount of time, mostly due to the wonderful and welcoming astronomy education community in New Zealand.

My first stop in Wellington was the Carter Observatory, located at the top of Wellington's hilly botanical gardens. Carter, which was once a functioning observatory, now houses an astronomy museum and planetarium. It's a small space, but it covers absolutely all of the bases. There are exhibits on standard astronomy -- the history of the Universe, galaxies, stars, black holes, planets, etc. -- as well as space travel and the ISS, local New Zealand professional astronomy, and Maori astronomy, which is incorporated into just about every exhibit. The planetarium is also New Zealand-centric, with some shows and graphics specifically designed and illustrated to incorporate Maori legends into modern astronomy. By far, Carter is the most holistic and inclusive local astornomy education center I've seen, and the kids I saw running around were clearly having a blast.

Carter Observatory, Wellington

Sun exhibit including a Maori legend about warrior Maui taming the Sun. In this interactive exhibit, you, too can pull back on the great Sun, Te Ra. Carter Observatory, Wellington.

Exhibit about the Big Bang (right) in parallel with Maori creation story (left). Carter Observatory, Wellington.

International Space Station Exhibit. Carter Observatory, Wellington.

Later in the week, I met up with Ron Fisher, who runs his own portable planetarium business called the Cosmodome. With Ron, I saw hundreds of kids ages 5-11 interact with astronomy, and learned that within the context of the Cosmodome, they found the following things most interesting:

1. Seeing how stars connected into constellations and seeing the constellation figures appear on top.

2. Zooming in on certain objects in the sky. Especially planets. Especially Saturn.

3. Seeing how the moon changes shape and position from night to night.

4. Watching time speed up and the stars move around us.

5. Traveling "through the Universe" with a short clip Ron had with images of galaxies.

On a few occasions, I did some follow-up with classes after their Cosmodome session, and the students were often antsy with questions and ideas. I realized from their enthusiasm that the point of a place like a planetarium is not so much the teaching of information, but instead more about the experience itself. Since the kids are young, and it's hard to teach scientific facts in a short amount of time, I don't believe that kids can really learn science in a setting like the Cosmodome. Instead, the stories they hear and the things they see can ignite an interest in astronomy that will allow them to persue and develop an interest in astronomy afterwards.

Inside the Cosmodome, looking at Matariki (the Pleiades) which marks the Maori New Year.

After a week in Wellington, I took a short trip back to the South Island to Nelson, a small town that's doing big things with astronomy education. A lot of this starts with Jenny Pollock, a secondary science teacher who is developing an Earth and Space Science curriculum that is starting to be used nation-wide. I sat in on a few of her astronomy classes at Nelson Girls College, and spoke with the students about what they're learning in Jenny's class. They were especially curious about black holes and the evolution of stars. 

While in Nelson, I also made a few trips to Victory Primary School to meet with Stirling Chatham, better known by his students as "Mr. Science." Stirling works with students in all grade levels, teaching science with fun, interactive and hands-on projects. In addition to his regular activities, including slime-making and using a bird puppet called Einstein to explain science to younger kids, together we had some conversations with his students about astronomy. Stirling filmed some of the conversations, and I hope to be able edit and upload them soon so I can post them here.

My crush on Victory Primary School became apparent to all within an hour of my arrival. I'm finding that I'm learning a lot in New Zealand mainly by seeing schools and systems that work. Victory is a clear example of this. I'm not saying that the school is without issues or difficult students, but instead it is obvious that they are taking an "all hands on deck" approach to education. Victory is extremely community and family oriented, and recognizes and works with every child's strengths and needs. It was refreshing to see this holistic approach to education in a very diverse community as well, with 1/3 of the students recent immigrants mostly from Southeast Asia, 1/3 of Maori/Pasifika origin and 1/3 of European-New Zealand origin. The communal enthusiasm for learning and working together is felt all over the school, from the classrooms to the playground to the joyous and warm staff room. It was a pleasure to work with them, and I learned a lot from a school that leads by such a positive example.

Kids at Victory Primary School drawing the Universe.

Gorgeous Nelson sunset

After a few days in Nelson, I made it back to Wellington, this time taking the Interislander Ferry, catching some gorgeous views of the Marlborough Sounds and the Cook Straight.

Cook Straight Interislander Ferry ride.

Cook Straight Interislander Ferry ride.

In the past week in Wellington, I've met even more educators and adults doing wonderful things in astronomy education. Chris Monigatti is a science teacher at Tawa College just north of Wellington, and has established an astronomy club at his school. He is also training four students to participate in the International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which will take place in Greece this July. (I'm actually trying to go myself as a sort of Watson culmination. Stay tuned.) 

Helping Chris with the Olympiad students is Haritina Mogosanu, a voraciously passionate astronomy educator and "Star-yteller." Although she is not a professional astronomer herself, it's clear that Hari is passionate about spreading the wonders of astronomy with children and adults alike, and using it as a tool to unite people and show a shared humanity that exists in stories of our Universe.

I also met with Marilyn Head, who was actually my first point of contact in New Zealand when I was beginning the Watson application over two years ago. Marilyn, too, does not work directly in astronomy, but has been a driving force in the astronomy education community in New Zealand for a long time, acting as the NZ point of contact for IYA2009 and taking on many independent astronomy projects in her free time. One of these projects was her Galaxy publication, an astronomy magazine for kids complete with cartoon strips, puzzles and projects.

Marilyn Head with a stack of Galaxy astronomy mags for kids.

 Also this week, I visited the Te Papa National Museum, and learned more about the national history and culture of New Zealand. It's a stunning museum, with lots to explore from art and music to history to earth sciences. I managed to cover most of it in a day, but it would be great to go back and explore more.

Yesterday, I made a trip out to Stonehenge Aotearoa in the Wairarapa with Chris Monigatti from Tawa College. Only 90 minutes away from Wellington, this stone circle celebrates astronomy in antiquity and explores the intersections between astronomical cultures globally. It was a stunning sight and clearly a labor of love. I learned a lot from listening to creator Richard Hall give a tour of the stone circle and tell stories of its origins and contexts in the Southern Hemisphere.

Stonehenge, Aotearoa

In front of Stonehenge, Aotearoa with creator Richard Hall.

In case you haven't noticed this trend by now, I'm realizing more and more that my project is in fact more about adults and less about children. Children, remarkably, are proving to be fairly constant from place to place. Their foundation of knowledge and the stories they know related to astronomy are obviously dependent on location, culture and educational circumstance. However, regardless of where I've been, children have extremely similar questions, curiosities and insights. In this way, it's the adults I've learned the most from. It's the creative educators, scientists and global thinkers that have taught me the most important lessons from this year. It is through their guidance and their experience that I am learning to become a more effective and inspiring astronomy educator. 

This week, I'll leave Wellington and continue my travels around the North Island. It will be sad to say goodbye to this gorgeous, hilly city on the water, especially since I've been staying in such a cozy and wonderful home (actually with my friend Jaime who I met in running club in Nepal!). I know it's time to leave, though, and continue to see more. 

Lovely Wellington.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to be able to update more regularly!

New Zealand Updates, pt. 1

I know, it's been forever. Think of it as a good thing. I've been busy, on the road, and without the downtime to upload pictures and post updates. I've been seeing a lot in NZ, which is why updating on my activity from the last month will have to be done in two parts.

Last time I checked in, I was just getting settled in Christchurch. But you know how things go when a Watson fellow gets settled -- we move on! Almost immediately after landing in New Zealand, I was contacted by Robert McTague of the South Canterbury Astronomical Society in Timaru, just a few hours south of Christchurch. Robert was organizing events for Global Astronomy Month at the local museum in Timaru, and wanted me to come down as a guest speaker. (Did you know that April was also GAM2013, organized by Astronomers Without Borders? I actually was asked to write for their blog, and you can see that post here.) Thanks to Robert, I was able to spend a lovely three days in Timaru and Geraldine, hosted by Peter and Wyn Alduos of SCAS, who have their own observatory above the garden of their lovely Geraldine home.

South Canterbury Museum, Timaru, NZ.

The event at the museum went really well. There was a talk/activity for kids in the afternoon as well as one for adults in the evening. The kids' event was very well attended, probably because it was a rainy day of school holidays and Robert did a wonderful job advertizing. As part of the activity, I had each kid draw what they thought the Universe looked like. There were drawings of undiscovered planets, whacky-looking aliens, raging black holes, soaring rocket ships, many-pointed stars, and much more. I then gave my own brief "tour of the Universe" with plenty of time at the end for kids to ask questions. It was great, and, I must admit, very much how I envisioned my project going when I first crafted the idea over three years ago.

Kids drawing the Universe. Timaru, NZ

The talk in the evening for adults went well, too. I tried to use the opportunity to engage and share why I love astronomy, and why I think exploring it should be a right for all people, and not just scientists. Robert, who is a professional photographer/videographer, taped this, and made this video for my visit. (In all honesty, I can't bring myself to watch it. It's too weird to see myself speak. But others have told me it's nice, and I'm very happy that Robert took the time to put it together.)

From Timaru/Gerladine, Robert, his wife Heather, Peter, Wyn and I all took a trip to Lake Tekapo, home to the Mt John Observatory. We got a wonderful tour of all of the telescopes and equipment from Observatory Superintendent Alan Gilmore, and enjoyed the lake on the perfect sunny day as well.

With Robert, Peter, Heather and Wyn in front on Lake Tekapo, NZ. (Photo by Robert McTague)

Tour of the Mt. John Observatory by Alan Gilmore (left).

I then spent three days in Queenstown, known as New Zealand's adrenaline capital for its abundant opportunities to bungee jump, skydive, and do other activities where you jump off of things. (My favorite travel show Departures even did a whole episode about it.) I didn't partake in any of those activities, but instead took some really beautiful hikes and enjoyed the stunning mountain and lakeside views.

Queenstown, NZ

Hiking above a rainbow! Ben Lomond Track, Queenstown.

Hiked out of sad weather, above the clouds and to the top. Ben Lomond Track, Queenstown, NZ.

I returned to Mt John after Queenstown to enjoy New Zealand's most pristine skies at night. This area of New Zealand actually has such clear skies that the International Dark Sky Association gave it a gold-rating. And it's true! Even right above the town of Tekapo, the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds are perfectly visible.

Night Skies over the town of Tekapo, NZ

While at the Observatory, I joined a tour given by Earth&Sky, Mt John's astro-tourism company. The tour was great and included telescope viewing, a tour of objects in the sky-at-large, huge coats and abundant amounts of hot chocolate. The tours can be quite pricey, but they're high-quality and well worth it. Earth&Sky also offers an astrophotography workshop, which I joined in on using my *first-ever* D-SLR camera, which I purchased from a desperate traveler for very cheap in Queenstown. Here are some of the pictures I took using Earth&Sky's tracking mount:

Orion Nebula. Mt John Observatory, Tekapo, NZ

Eta Carina. Mt John Observatory, Tekapo, NZ

47 Tucane. Mt John Observatory, Tekapo, NZ

For my final week in Christchurch, I visited several schools with teacher Ben McNabb, who is currently on a fellowship funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand to study astronomy at the University of Canterbury. These were my first experiences visiting New Zealand classrooms, and I must say, I was pretty blown away. The resources, the staffing, the community involvement, the morning "fruit breaks"! After months of seeing a variety of schools, some with a complete dearth of human and technological resources, it was great seeing fully-equipped and intentional school communities. It was also wonderful having Ben as a co-teacher. Since he has more experience in the classroom, and I have more experience with astronomy, we were able to learn a lot from one another in the week we had.

With Ben and a class of intermediate school students. Christchurch, NZ

With primary school students. Christchurch, NZ

That's all for part 1. In the next installment, Little Me goes to the North Island, back to the South Island, and back to the North as I continue to meet amazing educators and speak with a variety of students. Thanks for reading!

PS: The blog has had some updates! Check out the "Astro-Photography" page for photos such as the ones above as well as the "Where in the World?" page for a map of all the places visited this year.

Goodbye Cape Town // Hello Christchurch, NZ

After many delays, side-trips and attempts to prolong my time in Cape Town, I've finally shipped off from South Africa and moved on to WATSON PHASE IV: NEW ZEALAND. I've been in Christchurch for four days now, and have already settled in and established myself and my project in ways that usually take a few weeks of Watson-time. Within 36 hours of arrival, I had already:

1.     Settled into a homey place to stay with three wonderful housemates

2.     Figured out public transit and found a bike to use (thanks wonderful housemates)

3.     Received an office with desk space and computer from the University of Canterbury's astronomy department

4.     Played ultimate frisbee

5.     Recovered from ten hours of jet-lag (almost)

6.     Spoken with students about outer space!

All in all, I'm quite proud of myself. There have been times when I've kicked myself for delaying my trip to NZ -- I was originally supposed to arrive in late February!-- but I know that the other trips I've taken have been well worth the delay, and also that the resources and accessibility here, combined with my experience traveling, will make it possible to get the most out of a shorter amount of time.

But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. My last few days in Cape Town were perfect. Although I had a lot to do in terms of wrapping things up and getting ready to leave, the sun was shining in that ideal early-autumn way, and there was still time for adventures and saying goodbye properly.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I had my birthday on my last day in Ethiopia. I celebrated by going to two schools and chatting with students about astronomy, and having huge, traditional, delicious meals with both The Ethiopian Space Science Society and Birukti & co. It was an ideal way to celebrate my 23rd journey around the Sun. Plus, messages through email and facebook poured in from around the world, and I felt absolutely loved from all directions.

My birthday lunch with the ESSS in Ethiopia

When I got back to Cape Town, though, I did have a small casual get together both for another excuse to eat cake and a chance to say goodbye.

Birthday cake, food and friends in the park for a final get-together

We also had time for one last OAD-family hike up Table Mountain. Seeing the city from above at all angles was the perfect way to say goodbye to this beautiful city/country that has taught me so much.

 

Final climb up Table Mountain

On my last day in South Africa, I was able to squeeze in one final chat with students. SHAWCO is a non-profit organization run by the University of Cape Town that does a number of outreach projects in the community. My friend Ru runs one of the education projects, which tutors high school students and also helps the students organize independent research projects. Some of the groups are doing projects on science (one in particular on space science), and so I came in and spoke with them about astronomy and all that South Africa had to offer. Even though the project is huge, most of the students had not previously heard about the SKA and what it's going to bring to SA. It was great to hear their ideas about astronomy and also to see them get excited for the projects that are being developed in their country. 

 

Final chat with South African students

And then it was off to New Zealand! 36 hours, three stops, and ten time-zones later, I was in Christchurch. While the journey was exhausting, I will say this about long flights -- having a window seat gives astronomical perspective. In those 36 hours, I saw two sunrises, two sunsets, and the crescent moon go from the left side to the bottom as we neared the equator, and back to the left as we returned back to the Southern Hemisphere. 

Sunset after Capet Town take-off (crescent moon still on the left)

I arrived in Christchurch in the early afternoon, and by the evening, I was speaking with students from the AURORA school -- a one-week camp for high school students interested in astronomy. They had just returned from a [cloudy] trip the Mt John Observatory, and the leaders of the camp were running a fun Astro-Quiz night. I hung out with the group, and heard about the things they had enjoyed learning during the camp. Topics ranged from exoplanet detection to dark matter candidates to telescope operations. The students are all in their final year of high school, and it seemed that many of them became more interested in studying astronomy in college (or "Uni" as they say here), because of the AURORA school.

AURORA school students showing off their clay-model telescopes at Astro-Quiz night

The University of Canterbury astronomy faculty, who ran the AURORA school, has since welcomed me into the department as a visitor, and has provided me with office, desk and computer. I'll be working with them here on campus and also with teaching fellow Ben McNabb, who will help me organize visits to primary and secondary schools around Christchurch. 

Since settling in, I hoped to explore town a little bit more, but since the weather has been cold, rainy and miserable, I've mostly kept indoors. On Sunday, it was raining and sad, so I spent the afternoon at my local public library, only a 5 minute bike-ride away. I thought I'd go for the computers or to find a nice novel to read, but I found myself instead in the children's section, in a tiny chair, covered in children's books about outer space. The most interesting books were Maori legends that explained how the Sun, Earth, Moon and stars came into being.

 

Rainy day at the Papanui public library, reading children's books of Maori astro-legends

I'm here in New Zealand to explore this intersection between access to a high-achieving public education system (NZ ranks 4th in reading and science and 7th in math globally), and a strong traditional astronomical culture. Reading these legends was fascinating, and also gave some insight into how children in NZ are learning about astronomy. 

This week, I'm settling into life here, getting adjusted and getting some practical things done (like blogging!). These next two weeks are school holidays, proving that I am absolutely the worst at timing my travels so that I'll be able to speak with kids in schools (Chilean independence, Dasain in Nepal, Christmas/New Years in South Africa...) I don't think this holiday will inhibit my activities too much, though, as next week I'll travel to visit the South Canterbury Astronomical Society in Geraldine and Timaru to take part in their Global Astronomy Month events, and also hopefully take a trip to the Mt John Observatory near Lake Tekapo. 

---

UPDATE since the first part of this post was written -- the skies have finally cleared, and the weather report is now calling for "mild temperatures and abundant sunshine" for the next few days. Visions of gorgeous Christchurch autumn:

 

View from my 8th floor office (see mountains in background)

Campus walkways. I can't help but think of the Haverford nature trail in October

Ethiopia

I'm back in Cape Town now for a few days after a very quick, but very meaningful and informative trip to Ethiopia. In each of the places I've gone on this project I've had time to fully immerse myself not just in the educational or astronomical culture, but also a bit in the national culture, the language, the local histories, the arrangement of the cities and so on. By spending 2.5 weeks in Ethiopia, instead of my standard 2-3 months, I didn't necessarily have time to do this, and instead was on *Watson Power Mode*, attempting to absorb and do as much as humanly possible in the short time I had. 

I chose to go to Ethiopia because astronomy is rapidly developing there at the professional level. The Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS), which is based at the Department of Technology at the University of Addis Ababa, is currently in the process of building a professional-class observatory with two 1-meter diameter telescopes in the mountains just above Addis. They're also beginning site testing for another observatory in the north of the country, in the more remote hills of Lalibela. In visiting Ethiopia, I wanted to see how this development is affecting students, if at all. Simultaneously, I wanted to explore how other aspects of Ethiopian culture, including religion, affect children's notions of the Universe.

Through my work at the OAD in Cape Town, I was able to connect with the ESSS ahead of time and through them, I visited 5 different schools across Addis in the time I was there. We visited both public and private schools, although each of the schools we visited had their own Space Science Club. Besides these clubs, astronomy is barely in the school curriculum, usually taught as small units in physics or geography classes. For the most part, I gave my standard presentation and engaged with students directly this way.

Speaking to the Nazareth girls school Space Science Club.

Nazareth girls school, student organized Space Science Club evening event, complete with  star gazing

Misrak Goeh Secondary School Astrophysics club

St. Joseph School Space Science Club

These space science club meetings usually included student presentations on topics ranging from the basics of the Solar System to traditional Ethiopian astronomy to the possibility of life on Mars. Each student presentation was highly researched, and you could see the personal interest these students had in the subject matter. Some of the students (especially in the private schools) had extremely high-level questions, some of which I couldn't answer. It seems that these students are getting their information from the internet, or Discovery-channel type TV programs, as schools don't cover these topics at all. 

Advanced Q&A session at the St. Joseph School. In my first visit to St. Joseph, the students thought my presentation was "elementary," and they requested an advanced Q&A session where they could ask high-level questions. This panel of astrophysicists couldn't even answer all of their questions regarding anti-matter, string theory, white holes, and the standard model of cosmology.

Student presentation on the life cycle of stars, Nazareth Girls School

With the ESSS, I visited the site of the Entoto Observatory, just 30km away from Addis Ababa. Despite the proximity to the city, the light pollution is fairly low and because of the high altitude, it is less rainy than in the city. When I visited, the spaces for the two domes were being constructed, and the buildings for offices, cafeteria and accommodation were nearly complete. Over the course of my visit, the domes were delivered, and in the months ahead the telescopes themselves will be shipped and installed.

Construction of the Entoto Observatory

Construction of the Entoto Observatory.

Main Observatory building for offices, cafeteria and accommodation.

Probably the highlight of my time in Addis was couch surfing with Birukti, an inspiring young woman who has facilitated numerous outreach projects in Addis through the support of her church. She generously agreed to host me for my entire visit and helped me to engage with Addis life as much as possible in the little time I had.

With Birukti in front of Wenchi Crater Lake

Because work on the Observatory was busy during my visit, and because the ESSS members work only on a volunteer basis, my school visits with the ESSS only happened on a few days. With Birukti's help, I spent the remainder of my time exploring Addis Ababa and a bit outside the city, and engaging with kids in different settings besides in schools.

About five years ago, Birukti started a house for teenage boys who had formerly lived on the street. The project, called "Change House," had a total of 22 boys to start, many of which have graduated and are working and self-sufficient. With Birukti, I visited the house, which has 4 boys living there now. The following night, the boys, plus a few of the graduates, came over to Birukti's house for dinner, games and a little bit of telescope time.  The clouds rolled in before we could see anything too cool, but it was nice that they still got to see how the telescope worked.

At Birukti's with the Change House boys

Looking through the telescope before the clouds roll in.

Birukti also organized a program for girls she works with in the Entoto mountains to do a quick lesson on astronomy. We went over the basics of the Sun, Earth and Moon system, and explained orbits, seasons and lunar phases. 

Birukti translating for our lesson about the Sun, Earth and Moon

Learning about Earth's tilt.

Even though I didn't have time to explore a wide variety of educational settings and speak with tons of kids, I do feel that I did a lot given my short time there. I am grateful for the opportunity to see a completely different country which functions very differently from any place I've been. Special thanks to the ESSS for facilitating my project and to Birukti for hosting me!

Tomorrow I head to NEW ZEALAND for phase 4 (or 5?) of my trip. I'm sad to leave what has become my family and my home in Cape Town, but I feel ready for more adventures and a new place to explore.

To close, more pictures from Ethiopia:

Huge Orthodox Christian church in Bole, Addis Ababa

Sunset from Birukti's house. The sky, I think, was Addis' most beautiful quality.

View of Addis Ababa from halfway up the Entoto mountains

Wenchi Crater lake

First time on a horse! Wenchi Crater 

Amazing sunset from the plane