Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
National Tsing Hua University Astronomical Observatory (NTHU Observatory) has the largest refracting telescope (aperture=25cm) in Taiwan and is actively engaged in astronomical popular science education. In 2020, it established Facebook, Instagram fan pages and a YouTube channel, and also has a website to provide weather, news and astronomical observation results. The observatory also invites teachers and students in all school to visit, as well as holding open days for the public. We hope to fully utilize the existing facilities of NTHU Observatory to promote astronomical education, inspire students' interest in science, and expect to benefit Taiwan's science and technology industry in the future. The project goal is simply to fully utilize the rare educational resources of the observatory, on the one hand, to inspire the scientific interest of disadvantaged students and expand their horizons, and on the other hand, to cultivate future astronomers. Our specific approach is to bring the astronomical observatory to the target audience through activities.
Results/Contributions

1. Visiting activity for disadvantaged students:

In five disadvantaged student visit activities, we saw excitement from the children when they saw telescopes for the first time, and some were eager to look at what the telescopes could see and operate them themselves. Although they may not have much understanding of astronomy and the universe, we hope that they will have a deep impression of this experience and develop an interest in science.


In the 12/2-12/3 visit to the Taitung Maple Leaf Elementary School baseball team's activity, the weather was not good in the beginning.  After it cleared up, the students were able to see the moon and Mars through small telescopes, and they were very interested in the class and excited about viewing the starry sky through telescopes. We believe that in the future, when these students see stars in Taitung, they will think of this activity.


2. Cultivating elite talents:

In four days of teaching camp and three days of field training, we have trained 10 students from the Hsinchu High School Astronomy Club. In addition to being able to take beautiful astronomical photos, these students can also remotely control the NTHU Observatory and conduct scientific astronomical observations. They also submitted their exoplanet observation results to the international exoplanet observation ExoClock website and received certifications. Their observation results are listed on the NTHU Observatory's website https://nthuobs.phys.nthu.edu.tw/top.

Keywords
astronomical educationscientific educationreduce inequality
Contact Information
賴詩萍
slai@phys.nthu.edu.tw