Khagol Bulletin # 135 (Jan 2025) - ENG

| 14 | KHAG L | No. 135 - JANUARY 2025 Panel discussion on Challenges and Opportunities: Activitiesat theobservatory: ARIES provided participants with unique astronomy experiences to enhance their fascination and experience, which included: • Star gazing sessions: Identifying planets, constellations and stars during the star gazing sessions and viewing through a telescope. • Solar observation: Features of the Sun were explained while viewing through a telescope. Pane l d i scuss i ons l ed by AR I ES encouraged teachers to share their experiences and discuss challenges r e l a t ed t o as t ronomy educa t i on , • Facility tours: Participants visited the Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) Radar facility, the 1.04m Sampurnanand Telescope, the 1.3m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope, the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope and the 4m International Liquid Mirror Telescope at ARIES and Devasthal. They saw the telescope operations and data acquisition by astronomers for scientific research. particularly given its absence from most school curricula. The key topics included: • Discussing survey results gathered from interviews with teachers about astronomy education in schools to get an idea about how astronomy education is perceived across states, led by HBCSE-TIFR. • Overcoming barriers faced by teachers eager to teach astronomy. • Identifying reliable astronomy teaching materials and videos. • Addressing gender bias in fostering girls' participation in astronomy In the concluding session, the participants were privileged to meet and interact with Jean Surdej (University of Liege, Belgium). The programwas highly successful, with all participants appreciating the content and discussions. The telescope visits and observations provided invaluable hands- on experience, made possible by the unique location of the workshop at ARIES. Panel discussions created a space for teachers to share insights and learn from • The f eas i b i l i t y o f i n t r oduc i ng astronomy as a subject in Indian schools. experts and peers, which they found essential for implementing astronomy education in their schools. Expert-led lectures and demonstrations from ARIES, HBCSE-TIFR, and STEM & Space covered key astronomy concepts. Additionally, the Spacetopia portal by STEM & Space gave teachers the confidence to incorporate astronomy into their schools, either as a STEM extracurricular activity or as part of the curriculum. Teachers left the workshop feeling motivated and empowered to introduce astronomy education. The workshop coordinators Kuntal Misra (kuntal@aries.res.in ), ARIES, Nainital, Virendra Yadav (virendra@aries.res.in) , A R I E S , N a i n i t a l , M i l a M i t r a (mila@stemandspace.com) , STEM & Space, New Delhi, Gautam Agawari (gautam@stemandspace.com ), STEM & Space, New Delhi Office will follow up with the participants in the near future to assess their progress. The Teacher Training Program was coordinated by SurhudMore (IUCAA). ( Based on the press report submitted by. Kuntal Mishra, ARIES, Nainital) High Energy Astrophysics Workshop