Using JWST science to survey public engagement activity, inspire amateur astronomers and showcase UK involvement to the public.
Astroboost phase one is now complete and ready for launch! Follow the links at the bottom of this article to view the reports and/or download the Astroboost resources.
The Royal Astronomical Society’s AstroBoost project ran from March 2018 to March 2019. It was funded by a STFC Spark Award of £15,000 (ref. ST/R005826/1). The Primary Applicant was Dr Sheila Kanani (RAS Education Outreach and Diversity Officer).The project had two main strands. Firstly, a survey of Astronomy Society public engagement activities in the south of England. Secondly, production of resource kits to support three partner societies in delivering public engagement activities related to the James Webb Space Telescope.
The three aims of the project were:
(i) to survey public engagement activity by astronomy societies in the SAGAS region
(ii) to develop a new mechanism to support astronomy societies in delivery of high quality public engagement activities
(iii) to showcase James Webb Space Telescope science to the public, highlighting the UK involvement.
AstroBoost was run in partnership with Guildford Astronomical Society, Hampshire Astronomy Group, Newbury Astronomical Society, and the STFC’s UK James Webb Space Telescope campaign. The project was conceived, managed and delivered by Dr Jenny Shipway.
The Astroboost resource pack includes:
- — Help sheets with information on some of the science and best practice for delivering activities
- — Activity sheets (some general and some specific to the hardware provided to participating AstroBoost groups)
- — Instuctions for building a mini Lego Webb telescope model
- — Risk assessment templates
- — Presentation script and slides covering key Webb telescope science and technology areas
The download links are below.
Here is a link to the Webb site where you can also download the .zip file of all the resources and a .ppt version of the presentation.