Popular science activities

Popular science activities at the Observatori

From its origins, l’Observatori Astronòmic has been involved in outreach and dissemination activities to bring advances in astronomy to society and has promoted participation and interaction with the public. On these pages, we present the outreach activities we are currently carrying out or will undertake in the immediate future, as well as the dissemination  initiatives we have conducted in the past.

 

L’Observatori Astronòmic creates a scientific charity project adapted for children with visual impairments

This year the Observatori Astronòmic of the Universitat de València has embarked on the project “A Touch of the Universe”, a non-profit mission aimed at creating thirty kits with tactile astronomical activities for children with visual impairments. The observatory is currently distributing these packages or ‘astrokits’ by sending them to educators and teachers through Astronomers Without Borders, Universe Awareness (UNAWE), and the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) in America, Africa, and Asia. 

The project was presented at a press conference on Wednesday, December 11th, at the Rectorate building. In attendance were the Vice-Rector for Sustainability, Campus, and Planning, Clara Martínez; the director of the Observatori Astronòmic, José Carlos Guirado; and the person in charge of the initiative, Amelia Ortiz.

Universitat de València press

 

Astrokit

astrokit

Among our activities involving individuals with disabilities, we introduce the “Astrokit” from ‘A Touch of the Universe”.

The non-profit project “A Touch of the Universe” aims to create 30 kits with tactile astronomical activities for children, with or without impaired vision. These kits will be distributed to educators and teachers in developing countries across America, Africa, and Asia.

Join us!

 

Month’s sheet

Every month, in collaboration with the Science Museum, we produce an informative sheet about the sky, featuring the most significant astronomical events that will take place in that month and a summary of the most interesting astronomical news from the previous month.

Download this month’s sheet in valencià and castellà.

 

Crafts

From the Observatory, we provide you with the astronomical crafts that you can find below, so you can download them (in PDF format). You can cut and attach them while you learn about astronomy:

 

Create your  Earthdial

The Earthdial was an interesting project of the Planetary Society in which, in 2004, a network of sundials that could be viewed in real-time over the Internet  was established worldwide, and the observatory participated in it.

This was our Earthdial, made of ceramics and located inside the water pool at the entrance of our facilities. This type of sundial is straightforward to craft, and we encourage you to build your own, even though the original project is no longer in effect. You can download these simple instructions to create your own Earthdial.
earthdial

 

 

 

Eclipses and transits

Here you can watch our “Eclipses and Transits” videos, awarded with the First Prize Ex Aequo in the 2007 edition of the scientific outreach competition “Ciencia en Acción“.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4: