Armagh Planetarium - Hands-On Universe Beijing 2005

THE GHOU CONFERENCE HELD IN BEIJING

Robert Hill represented Armagh Planetarium and the UK at the Global Hands-On Universe (GHOU) conference in Beijing in August 2005. Scientists and teachers from six continents attended. The goal of the conference was to discuss global approaches to astronomy education and how to encourage pupil-research links through hands-on activities.

Delegates discussed their successes and failures with examples of interactive projects between science centres, planetaria, universities and schools. Many countries now work with local educational authorities to include astronomy in the curriculum. Robert was an invited speaker and also chaired the third day of the conference titled 'Astronomy and classroom activities around the world'. This reflects Armagh Planetarium's international reputation as an active participant in educational projects throughout the UK, Ireland and abroad. Robert also presented a "live from Hawaii" interactive teacher workshop that demonstrated the Faulkes Telescope in action.

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DELEGATES VISIT THE GREAT WALL AT BADALING.

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One of the highlights of the conference was a visit to the brand new Beijing Planetarium, recently refurbished at a cost of tens of millions of pounds. It has two planetariums, one driven by an optical system and the other a state-of-the-art digital theatre. The digital images are projected using lasers and the effect is breathtaking, with vibrant colours: the planetarium shows are a credit to their Chinese producers. The planetarium also has two interactive digital theatres for science education and several large exhibition areas spread out over two floors. The Director of the Planetarium, Dr Jin Zhu discussed educational outreach in China with Robert and we have agreed to explore possibilities for further collaboration. Dr Tom Mason, Armagh's Director, is travelling to Beijing in September to attend an IPS Council meeting to plan the 2008 conference. He will meet the Beijing Planetarium staff and they will consider further collaboration. Delegates also examined the Chinese Ancient Observatory containing a stunning collection of antique Chinese astronomical instruments.

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GHOU DELEGATES VISIT THE ANCIENT OBSERVATORY IN BEIJING

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