Abstract
Stargazing Live! aims to capture the imagination of students of all ages with live and interactive
(mobile) planetarium lessons about the transient universe incorporating semi-live data from the
Dutch MeerLICHT and BlackGEM telescopes. The most advanced lesson, at pre-university physics
level, also aims to support the teaching and learning of key curriculum concepts. Results from the
evaluation study show that pre-university physics students are engaged and inspired by the
planetarium lesson but find it difficult to link the topics to what they learn in their physics lessons,
supporting the need for follow-up classroom-based activities. To address this omission, lesson
activities have been created for this age group to accompany the planetarium shows using the
interactive tool DynaLearn (https://dynalearn.nl/). The lessons challenge students to model key
curriculum concepts linked to the telescopes and their science such as stellar properties and the
balance within a main-sequence star. The lessons were created using a co-creation model – led by
science education experts with significant input from astronomers, astronomy outreach/education
professionals and physics teachers. Knowledge questionnaires, completed immediately prior to
and after the ‘stellar properties’ activity showed a significant increase in the number of students
able to correctly describe the causal relationships between mass and other properties in a main-
sequence star such as luminosity, gravity, and temperature. All materials are freely available in both
English and Dutch (https://www.astronomie.nl/stargazinglive).
(mobile) planetarium lessons about the transient universe incorporating semi-live data from the
Dutch MeerLICHT and BlackGEM telescopes. The most advanced lesson, at pre-university physics
level, also aims to support the teaching and learning of key curriculum concepts. Results from the
evaluation study show that pre-university physics students are engaged and inspired by the
planetarium lesson but find it difficult to link the topics to what they learn in their physics lessons,
supporting the need for follow-up classroom-based activities. To address this omission, lesson
activities have been created for this age group to accompany the planetarium shows using the
interactive tool DynaLearn (https://dynalearn.nl/). The lessons challenge students to model key
curriculum concepts linked to the telescopes and their science such as stellar properties and the
balance within a main-sequence star. The lessons were created using a co-creation model – led by
science education experts with significant input from astronomers, astronomy outreach/education
professionals and physics teachers. Knowledge questionnaires, completed immediately prior to
and after the ‘stellar properties’ activity showed a significant increase in the number of students
able to correctly describe the causal relationships between mass and other properties in a main-
sequence star such as luminosity, gravity, and temperature. All materials are freely available in both
English and Dutch (https://www.astronomie.nl/stargazinglive).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 331-337 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
| Event | International Planetarium Society Conference: United under the sky - Berlin Arena/Zeiss-Grossplanetarium, Berlin, Germany Duration: 21 Jul 2024 → 25 Jul 2024 https://www.ips2024.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | International Planetarium Society Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | IPS2024 |
| Country/Territory | Germany |
| City | Berlin |
| Period | 21/07/24 → 25/07/24 |
| Internet address |