AstroMakers: Exploring astronomy through making

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We are seeking STFC funding to help us enhance the range and impact of free activities in our MakeSpace, Cheltenham Science Festival's first interactive zone dedicated to the material world and the joy of making. Linked to this, it will also enable us to expand and improve our 'Around Town' programme of free making activities around the streets of Cheltenham. Our goal is to bring together scientists, artists and makers to engage the public in exploring the material world, while highlighting the role of engineering, technology, creativity and collaboration in exploring our universe. STFC funding will enable us to build on the success and popularity of our free 2016 SpaceZone, by embedding astronomy and astrophysics into these interactive activities and enabling us to train and work with early-career researchers within STFC-funded fields. We aim to inspire the next generation of scientists and makers by enabling children, young people and their families to meet and interact with scientists who are working in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics research. Both the MakeSpace and Around Town support Cheltenham Science Festival's strategic goal to expand and improve its provision of free, on-site interactive experiences and free activities in Cheltenham town centre. They will ensure we achieve our goal of reaching new audiences, both within the Festival grounds (Imperial Gardens) but also those who do not visit the Science Festival site. We were encouraged to see that the STFC aims to reach audiences with low 'science capital' and we believe this project complements this aim. Another aim is to support the development of early-career researchers' engagement and communication skills through training and ongoing support. Using our network of science communication experts, we will work with scientists in STFC-funded fields to upskill participating scientists, to make sure the delivery of activities is of the very high standard expected at Cheltenham. We want participating scientists to have a fantastic learning opportunity and a chance to improve their own confidence and skills. Equally, this process will ensure that we also learn from them: that their knowledge of contemporary research is thoroughly embedded in the development and delivery of the activities.The impacts of this project can therefore be summarised as:- Through participation and dialogue with 'real life' experts, Gloucestershire's children, young people and their families are inspired by astronomy and astrophysics and inspired to make, invent, hack or tinker in their own time - Audiences gain an understanding of the synergy between scientists, technologists, engineers, artists and makers in contemporary research into our material universe- Audiences gain a better understanding of science as a creative, fun and exciting discipline and profession - breaking down the barriers between the arts and science/engineering- Cheltenham Science Festival reaches new audiences, on site and throughout the town- Greater number of early-career scientists in the fields of astrophysics and astronomy are involved in developing and delivering interactives at Cheltenham Science Festival- Early-career scientists working in STFC-funded areas of research have improved communication skills and are confident talking about their fields of expertiseIn terms of a practical legacy, the workshops, activities and interactive demonstrations that are developed as part of this project will become a resource which can be used by participating scientists in schools, events and other festivals around the UK. The cohort of trained scientists (and engineers) with whom we work will be able to deliver high quality, interactive experiences in the future.