For centuries, the Earth was thought to be at the centre of the universe. Today’s science now believes that everywhere is the centre of the universe and that it is, in fact, constantly expanding. Whatever your beliefs may be, astronomy is at the centre of everything. It poses the biggest of questions which have fascinated humans throughout history. Where do we come from? Who are we? How can astronomy help us to answer these questions? How can we persuade young people to look to the stars for inspiration? How can we use astronomy to foster a love of maths and science and deepen understanding? Astronomy is a science discipline which changes rapidly, just look at everything we discovered in 2016 alone – gravitational waves and another ninth planet. How can we make young people aware that scientific knowledge evolves and develops quickly and prepare them for a future in a rapidly changing world? How can we demystify 'hard' science and make it accessible to all? The main objectives of our project are to harness our pupils’ curiosity about the ‘big’ astronomy and physics questions and to use this to improve the delivery of science courses in our schools whilst developing a range of materials and expertise that we can share with colleagues across Europe and beyond. We aim to help young people understand the relationship between astronomy and other sciences and to give them the skills required to develop their knowledge in their future studies. Through working with young people from other countries they will improve their linguistic competence, develop communication skills, understand more about living and working in a multilingual world, celebrate diversity and respect their own culture and that of others. They will gain an enhanced awareness of our shared European history and a sense of themselves as European citizens. Students and staff from eight schools from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom will take part in this project. A total of approximately 8000 young people will be exposed to the Erasmus experience through activities held in their schools. Within each school there will be a core team of Erasmus pupils and teachers who will lead the work. Activities will be developed to include pupils from the age range of 3-18 and, unusually, they will interact with each other during the project. The range of activities offered will take a holistic approach to the study of astronomy. There will be high-level activities in astronomy and astrophysics aimed at advanced students and introductory activities for the youngest. Music, Art, Maths, Literature, Geography, History and Language departments will embed learning and teaching activities on the theme of astronomy in their programmes. There will be a balance between classroom-based learning and collaborative work. Pupils will work together in the classroom and also in the digital classroom, allowing them to collaborate with young people in other countries. The methodologies uses will be chosen to suit the activity. We will use hands-on, experiential learning as much as possible and pupils will be encouraged to work in groups and to share their findings. Class teaching will underpin the material studied. To encourage interaction between the participants, eTwinning and digital resources will be used to share and store materials. Regular meetings and video-conferences will be timetabled. At the end of the project, the tangible results will be a range of open access learning and teaching material which will be published on eTwinning and the web. These will be available in English and in the national languages of the project. The impact envisaged is deeper understanding of a range of scientific and mathematical principles amongst our pupils, a greater sense of European citizenship, improved linguistic competence and digital literacy and the development of lifeskills which will lead to greater opportunities in employment. Employers value the ‘soft skills gained by those with an awareness of the wider world. Longer term benefits will be a group of confident and independent learners who have a ‘can-do’ attitude are ready to face challenges in a fast-changing and increasingly globalised world.
For centuries, the Earth was thought to be at the centre of the universe. Today’s science now believes that everywhere is the centre of the universe and that it is, in fact, constantly expanding. The universe is, therefore, larger than it was when we started this project three years ago. Whatever your beliefs may be, astronomy is at the centre of everything. It poses the biggest of questions which have fascinated humans throughout history. Where do we come from? Who are we? How can astronomy help us to answer these questions? How can we persuade young people to look to the stars for inspiration? How can we use astronomy to foster a love of maths and science and deepen understanding? These are the questions we asked at the start of this project. Astronomy is a science discipline which changes rapidly, just look at everything we discovered between 2017 and 2020 which is recorded on the project’s Facebook page. Recording events as they happened has brought home to young people that scientific knowledge evolves and develops quickly and has helped them to prepare for life in a rapidly changing world. Through our multidisciplinary approach, we demystified some 'hard' science to make it accessible to a much wider audience. The main objectives of our project were to harness our pupils’ curiosity about the ‘big’ astronomy and physics questions and to use this to improve the delivery of science courses in our schools whilst developing a range of materials and expertise that we could share with colleagues across Europe and beyond. We helped young people understand the relationship between astronomy and other sciences and gave them skills required to develop their knowledge in their future studies. Through working with young people from other countries, linguistic competence, communication skills, cultural understanding and respect for their own culture and that of others were fostered amongst the participants. They gained an enhanced awareness of our shared European history and a sense of themselves as European citizens as well as developing an awareness of the interpretation of astronomical matters in other cultures by working with a partner school in India. Students and staff from nine schools from nine countries (Bulgaria, France, Germany, Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom – and India as guest partners) took part in this project. A total of approximately 8000 young people were exposed to the Erasmus experience through activities held in their schools, either as working directly with the project or in cascade events. Within each school, a core team of Erasmus pupils ambassadors and teachers led the work. Activities included pupils from the age range of 3-18, multi-age and multi-stage activities encouraged them to mix with each other. The holistic approach to the project meant that activities suited to all ages, stages and learning needs were offered. High level activities in astronomy and astrophysics were aimed at advanced students and these provided challenge for those intending to pursue their interest in astrophysics at university. Introductory activities for the youngest included the use of telescopes and star gazing. A group of severely autistic children were involved in the project through art therapy. Music, Art, Maths, Literature, Geography, History and Language departments included learning and teaching activities on the theme of astronomy in their programmes. Collaborative work and classroom learning took place. A mixed methodology approach was used. Wherever practicable, hand-on experiential learning was favoured. Working in international groups was encouraged as was the role of older students as workshop leaders and as mentors to younger pupils. The tangible results of the project include a project website, a Facebook page, a project TwinSpace on eTwinning and three smaller eTwinning projects based on astronomy and an online dictionary. We have produced a bank of learning and teaching resources and lesson plans and a range of spin-off outcomes from galaxy scarves to board games, embroidery to animated films. The impact of the project on pupils has been clear. Several have now decided to study astrophysics at university and some have decided to study abroad in one of the project’s partner countries. Language and communication skills have improved and pupils have greater confidence in new and challenging situations. Friendships have been cemented. Project activities have featured as examples of good practice in Erasmus+ publications, in the press, on radio and on television. The longer term impact of the project will only become apparent in due course as our astrophysicists and their Eurostronomia friends develop their skills further at university and in the workplace. One participant has attended NASA space school. Will her dream of being the first astronaut on Mars be realised? Erasmus+ encouraged participants to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars.