For Teachers

The Royal Astronomical Society hosted the National Astronomy Week (NAW) for the United Kingdom in November 2020 whose focus was Mars, the planet. You can learn more about the event here: https://astronomyweek.org.uk/

With the successful landing of the NASA Perseverance rover in February 2021, we thought we would highlight some of the great activities and resources that the NAW provided  for students, teachers and parents.

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 Education and Outreach team, along with some Fellows, have been teaching GCSE Astronomy at the RAS and at local schools since 2015. There are currently three RAS GCSE Astronomy classes taking place, with examinations in 2019 and 2020. One is held at Westminster College, one at the RAS itself, and one at Ashton Community Science College in Preston.

This  resource  pack  includes  a collection of websites,  documents  and  activities  to  help  young  astronomers  and  leaders  of  STEM  clubs  and  extra-curricular  groups  to  gain  experience  and  knowledge  of  aspects  of  astronomy,  astronautics,  and  solar  system  sciences.  

+ What got you interested in science?

I come from a science background as my parents are pharmacists so I think I’ve always been quite interested in science, but I probably didn’t realise it until I was in secondary school. When I was 8 I wanted to be a vet or an inventor and remember dreaming of making prostheses for cats that’d lost limbs!

+ What led you to astronomy/space science/geophysics?

My job

Public astronomer  at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. I am an enthusiastic communicator of Astronomy, organise and train others to do outreach activities, and teach maths to undergraduate scientists.

My job

Secondary school teacher and planetary physicist. Enthusiastic head of science at Manor High School in Leicestershire. Inspires future scientists, motivates staff and has a genuine love of all sciences (particularly space!)

My job

Building Relationships Manager. Building partnerships between some seriously smart cookies who do cool collaborative scientific research together is my bread and butter.

My job

Outreach officer and teacher at Imperial College, London. My main role is to promote Physics and Astronomy to school pupils and the public, hopefully getting more people to study the subject. I also lecture, occasionally do some solar physics research and sometimes I'm on TV!

My job

I am Professor of Physics and head of the Imaging & sensing for Archaeology, Art history and Conservation (ISAAC) Lab at Nottingham Trent University.

The best of my job

My job is very varied which makes it fun. There is research, teaching, mentoring, lots of travelling around the world and meeting new people especially students. My job keeps me very busy, so I am never bored. By far the most interesting projects are those that involve physics and history.