Brisbane Planetarium and IYA August 31, 2008
Posted by astroed in Astronomy, Education.Tags: IYA
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On Friday morning I flew to Brisbane. The main reason for my trip was to help run the Mission Astronomy teacher workshop at the University of Southern Queensland but you’ll have to read a later blog posting for details about that. Before going to Toowoomba for the workshop I participated in a meeting at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium in the grounds of the Botannical Gardens in Brisbane. This was my first visit to the planetarium and I was impressed by the design of the building as well as the lovely setting in the gardens.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the International Year of Astronomy 2009 with interested stakeholders from Queensland. It was a productive meeting with representatives from several amatur socieities, the planetarium, the Science Teachers’ Association of Queensland, universities and the Queensland Museum. Following an overview of IYA then how it is structured and what is already planned for IYA in Australia we had a lengthy discussion about possible events and activities in Queensland. I llok forward to following up ideas with the group over coming months.
Near the entrance to the planetarium is an engaging new addition – a bronze statue of rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, donated to Brisbane last year by a Russian trade delegation. It is almost whmsical but also quite touching.
Before our meeting we had a chance to see the planetarium in action. It still uses a Zeiss optical projector plus a newer digital one. The 12.4 m dome seats about 120 people and hosts up to several shows a day. They have an active education program and the place certainly seemed buzzing with enthusisatic school students during my visit.
Introducing ‘Fermi’, the telescope formerly known as GLAST. August 27, 2008
Posted by astroed in Astronomy.Tags: Fermi
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NASA revealed the new name of the recently-launched gamma-ray telescope hitherto known as GLAST yesterday. Following a competition to suggest a suitable name from the world of high-energy physics and astronomy they have renamed it Fermi, in honour of the famous Italian physicist (and later American resident) Enrico Fermi. Read the NASA news release for more details.
Great post on getting teachers engaged with ICT. August 25, 2008
Posted by astroed in Education, ICT.add a comment
Chris on Betchablog has a great updated post on 11 things that make a difference. He provides a clear and concise summary of 11 things that help teachers gain confidence and apply ICT across their teaching. Highly recommended.
Some great ‘Sleek Geek’ science videos. August 21, 2008
Posted by astroed in Astronomy, Education, ICT.Tags: Eureka, schools, Science, videos
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This week saw the annual Eureka Prizes for Science awarded. Part of the awards are sponsored by the University of Sydney and hosted on the ABC’s website: The Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Schools Prize. Check out some grat videos produced by school students. There is a lovely video by a very passionate four-year old volcanologist, Aydin Neighbour.
From an astronomy perspective there is the winner in the Secondary Schools section about the Copernican revolution. The winner in the University section is also a favourite.
Happy viewing.
Elegant Observatory August 18, 2008
Posted by astroed in Astronomy, Physics.Tags: observatory, Parkes, telescope
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Today’s Guardian has an article about a wonderful new observatory in England of all places. The article isn’t in the science section but rather in the architecture section. The observatory in question is the Keildor Observatory in Northumberland. This is a wonderful new building; 20 inch and 14 inch telescopes, a viewing platform and a warm room for those chilly winter nights are powered by a combination of wind and solar sources linked to batteries. A compost toilet provides the other essential.
The observatory appears different from the traditional dome or slide-off roof of smaller observatories. It looks positively Scandinavian with it rectangular, wooden structure. I’d love to visit it in the future.
The Guardian article also mentions five other stunning observatories – fortunately our own Parkes radio telescope is among them.
The great debate: does God Exist? August 6, 2008
Posted by astroed in General, Mathematics, Skepticism.Tags: atheism, national science week, religion, Skepticism
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National Science Week is rapidly approaching. One event in Sydney that I’ve been asked to publicise is a debate between renowned skeptic Michael Schermer and John Lennox, scientist and mathematician. Details follow:
When: 23 August 2008
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Where: The Wesley Conference Centre
220 Pitt Street, Sydney
Michael Shermer, renowned skeptic, and John Lennox, mathematician and scientist, debate the ultimate question: does God exist?
Facilitated by Paul Willis from ABC’s Catalyst, this debate is sure to be engaging and entertaining, as the two speakers delve into their pet topics of intellectual theism, the origins of religion and why people believe in God?
Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic Magazine and the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University.
John Lennox has three degrees in the fields of science and mathematics and is a Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green College Oxford. His most recent book is ‘God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?’.
John has recently debated the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, while Michael has recently debated William Dembski, an American proponent of ‘intelligent design.’ Brief biographical notes for John and Michael are below.
This event is free but there are limited seats. Please book your ‘tickets‘ at http://publicchristianity.org/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=26865 call 02 9955 0077 or email info@publicchristianity.org
The Great Debate is sponsored by Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists & Managers, Australia (APESMA)
Michael Shermer was brought to Australia by the Australian Government for National Science Week http://www.scienceweek.info.au/Pages/index.aspx
John Lennox was brought to Australia by the Centre for Public Christianity www.publicchristianity.org
