AstroMakers: Exploring astronomy through making

我们正在寻求STFC的资金，以帮助我们提高我们的MakeSpace，切尔滕纳姆科学节的第一个互动区，致力于物质世界和制作的乐趣免费活动的范围和影响。与此相关，它也将使我们能够扩大和改善我们的“城市周围”计划的免费制作活动周围的切尔滕纳姆的街道。我们的目标是将科学家，艺术家和制造商聚集在一起，让公众参与探索物质世界，同时突出工程，技术，创造力和合作在探索我们的宇宙中的作用。STFC的资助将使我们能够在我们免费的2016年SpaceZone的成功和受欢迎程度的基础上，将天文学和天体物理学嵌入这些互动活动中，并使我们能够在STFC资助的领域内培训和与早期职业研究人员合作。我们的目标是激励下一代科学家和制造商，使儿童，年轻人及其家人能够与天文学和天体物理学研究领域的科学家会面和互动。MakeSpace和Around Town都支持切尔滕纳姆科学节的战略目标，即扩大和改善其在切尔滕纳姆市中心提供的免费现场互动体验和免费活动。他们将确保我们实现我们的目标，达到新的观众，无论是在节日的理由（皇家花园），但也那些谁不访问科学节网站。我们很高兴地看到，STFC的目标是达到低“科学资本”的观众，我们相信这个项目补充了这一目标。另一个目的是通过培训和持续支持，支持早期职业研究人员的参与和沟通技能的发展。利用我们的科学传播专家网络，我们将与STFC资助领域的科学家合作，提高参与科学家的技能，以确保活动的交付达到切尔滕纳姆预期的高标准。我们希望参与的科学家有一个极好的学习机会，并有机会提高自己的信心和技能。同样，这一过程将确保我们也向他们学习：他们对当代研究的知识完全嵌入到活动的开发和交付中。因此，该项目的影响可以概括为：- 通过与“真实的生活”专家的参与和对话，格洛斯特郡的儿童，年轻人及其家人受到天文学和天体物理学的启发，并受到启发，在自己的时间里制造，发明，黑客或修补-观众了解科学家，技术人员，工程师，艺术家和制造商在当代研究我们的物质宇宙-观众获得更好的理解科学作为一个创造性的，有趣的和令人兴奋的学科和专业-打破艺术和科学/工程之间的障碍-切尔滕纳姆科学节达到新的观众，现场和整个城镇-天体物理学和天文学领域的更多早期职业科学家参与切尔滕纳姆科学节的开发和提供互动-在STFC工作的早期职业科学家-103.资助的研究领域提高了沟通技巧，并有信心谈论他们的专业领域。就实际遗产而言，作为该项目一部分开发的研讨会、活动和互动演示将成为一种资源，可供参与的科学家在英国各地的学校、活动和其他节日中使用。与我们合作的训练有素的科学家（和工程师）将能够在未来提供高质量的互动体验。

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.