Astronomy for Remote and Island Schools

偏远和岛屿学校天文学(AFRIS)提案是一个国家学校观测站项目，目的是建立和管理一个小型流动天文推广小组，其任务是创建、组织和向偏远和岛屿地区的学校提供天文学教育讲习班。STFC的资助将使外展队能够(I)收集教育工具和演示设备的资源包，(Ii)在两年内进行总共40次外展旅行(每次2至3天)，以及(Iii)与80所学校和估计4,000名难以接触到的学生和周围社区的1,000名成员接触。团队成员还将与20所参与学校合作，为他们的学生建立一个天文或科学俱乐部，并在项目期间及以后提供在线支持。AfRIS小组将由经验丰富的演讲者和天文学研究人员组成，并将通过汽车和渡轮(如有需要)进行实地访问，以运输资源工具包。每次访问期间举办的讲习班和活动将根据参加的学校和学生的需要和兴趣而量身定做，但在所有情况下，都将力求突出STFC科学活动的广泛范围，并旨在向以前可能没有考虑过从事科学事业的学生的头脑中播下STEM种子。此外，流动小组将与NSO的同事合作，创建一个在线‘偏远和岛屿学校’社区和门户网站，以支持教师在课堂上教授天文学，并为有兴趣进一步攻读天文学或其他STEM科目的学生提供额外的资源和建议。专用门户还将用于促进和管理非洲创新系统项目，并与感兴趣的各方分享我们的经验。将进行详细的评估，以评估访问的短期和中期影响，并确保活动的发展符合我们访问的社区的需要。非洲资源信息系统小组将定期提供所有活动的最新情况、图像和报告，可用于更广泛的传播目的。

The Astronomy for Remote and Island Schools (AfRIS) proposal is a National Schools' Observatory (NSO) project to establish and manage a small mobile astronomy-outreach team, whose task will be to create, organise and deliver astronomy education workshops to schools based in remote and island locations. STFC funding will enable the outreach team to (i) put together a resource pack of educational tools and demonstration equipment, (ii) undertake a total of 40 outreach trips (each of 2 to 3 days) over two years, and (iii) engage with 80 schools and an estimated 4,000 hard-to-reach students and 1,000 members of the surrounding community. The team members will also work with 20 participating schools to establish an astronomy or science club for their pupils, and provide online support for the duration of the project and beyond. The AfRIS team will be made up of experienced presenters and astronomy researchers, and location visits will be undertaken via car and ferry (where required) in order to transport the resource kit. The workshops and activities undertaken during each visit will be tailored to the needs and interests of the schools and students taking part, but in all cases, will seek to highlight the broad range of STFC science activities and aim to plant STEM seeds in the minds of students who may not previously have considered a career in science. In addition, the mobile team will work with NSO colleagues to create an online 'remote and island schools' community and portal to support teachers in their teaching of astronomy in the classroom, and to provide additional resources and advice for students interested in pursuing astronomy or other STEM subjects further. The dedicated portal will also be used to promote and manage the AfRIS project, and to share our experiences with interested parties. A detailed evaluation will be conducted to assess the short-to-medium term impact of the visits, and to ensure that activities evolve to suit the needs of the communities we visit. The AfRIS team will provide regular updates, images and reports on all activities, which can be used for wider dissemination purposes.