The Earth and Sky Tour: Building capacity for hyperlocal STEM engagement with astronomy at hubs in England and Wales

自2015年以来，SMASHfestUK已经从伦敦东南部的一个小型当地STEM节发展成为一个全年互动活动的项目。2017/18年度，我们获得了英国航天局和皇家工程院的资助，在伦敦以外的其他服务欠缺的社区开展试点活动。我们正在与斯旺西科学节/大学合作，在南威尔士山谷的后工业采矿小镇内斯创建一个SMASHfestUK。尼斯是社区第一区域（威尔士政府）和西南威尔士达成更广泛合作伙伴关系的关键目标区域（斯旺西大学领导），以吸引那些不太可能参与主要节日的人。我们希望在那里进行“能力建设”；建立一个由当地领导人、研究人员、活动人士和年轻解释人员组成的团队，并将培训他们如何交付以前在伦敦举办的活动（“小行星”、“太阳风暴”和“超级火山”）。RAE/UKSA的资金涵盖了地球和天空之旅的一些制作成本，但不包括stfc领导的“年轻解释者”（YE）计划，该计划于2016年成功试点，其中2人正在学习物理学学士学位。我们这个项目的下一步；“青年创新者”)和新社区的能力建设。从内斯学校招募的YI将在“太空营”工作，探索太空探索的科学，以及我们如何在太空和其他星球上居住，以及如果灾难意味着离开地球，如何重建。活动包括：小行星展览（合作伙伴：格林威治皇家天文台）如何制作小行星（工作坊）与当地天文学家一起观星用汽水瓶制作火箭。建筑通信系统（水晶收音机、光纤莫尔斯电码）。导航（建立和使用六分仪，创建地球和天空地图）。空气和水的过滤和循环利用。设计和工程一个太空港/卫星/空间栖息地/空间碎片捕获系统。YE项目的重点是教育和促进活动，YIs将为2018年SMASHfestUK共同创作一个主要的互动“太空生活”装置。“太空生活”将从内斯开始，然后通过米德尔塞克斯大学设计工程与数学系、斯旺西大学、格林威治创意产业大学、卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室、Deptford绿色学校D&T系和Dominic Wilcox青年发明家计划支持的联合研讨会，将威尔士的YIs与伦敦的YIs联系起来。MDXDEM和Greenwich将与YIs一起直接开发、展示和建造他们的空间发明。斯旺西大学将提供科学与工程方面的咨询，卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室也将提供咨询。Deptford Green School D&T的学生将与YIs， MDXDEM的本科生以及专业科学家和工程师合作，设计和开发“太空生活”的元素。Dominic Wilcox的青年发明家项目将与参与的小学的设计创意和发明合作，并将其融入发展思维。作为YI计划的一部分，我们将试行CREST认证，以确保质量并对YI的经验进行外部验证。该项目将为STEM活动人士创造一个独特的技术和创意生态，从小学到中学、大专、大学再到高级专业人士，致力于一个独特的以空间为重点的STEM公众参与项目，并提供一个总体叙事。在伦敦郊外推出SMASHfestUK参与模式（叙事主导和探究驱动，旨在增加受众的科学资本），以测试其稳健性，并将YE模式发展为“年轻创新者”，这是我们现阶段收集证据的最后一个要素。如果有证据支持这项工作，我们将在此基础上申请2018年以后的更大的赠款资金（来自STFC、大彩票、惠康信托社会奖的大额奖励），以实现长期可持续发展。

Since 2015, SMASHfestUK has developed from a small local STEM festival in SE London, to a programme of year-round interactive engagements. For 2017/18 we have received funding (UK Space Agency and Royal Academy of Engineering) to pilot activities outside London in other underserved communities.We are partnering with Swansea Science Festival/University to create a SMASHfestUK in Neath - a post-industrial mining town in the South Wales valleys.Neath is a Communities First area (Welsh Government) and a key target area for the South West Wales Reaching Wider partnership, (Swansea University lead), to engage people who will be unlikely to engage with the main festival. We wish to "capacity build" there; creating a team of local leaders, engaged researchers, activists and young explainers and will train them in the delivery of events previously run in London, ("asteroid," "solar storm" and "supervolcano"). RAE/UKSA funding covers some production costs of the Earth and Sky Tour but excludes the STFC-lead 'Young Explainer' (YE) programme, (successfully piloted in 2016 with 2 of that cohort now studying physics BSc. Our next step for this programme; 'Young Innovators'.) and capacity building within new communities.YI's recruited from schools in Neath will work on 'Space Camp', exploring the science of space exploration & how we populate space & other planets and rebuild if a disaster means leaving Earth. Activities will include: Asteroid exhibition (Partner: Royal Observatory Greenwich)How to make asteroids (workshops)Solar Stargazing with local astronomersBuild a rocket using fizzy drinks bottles.Building communications system (crystal radios, optic fibre morse code).Navigation (building and using sextants, creating earth and sky maps).Air and water filtering and recycling.Design & engineer a spaceport/satellite/space habitat/space debris capture systems. Where the YE programme is focuses on education & facilitation of events, YIs will work on co-creating a major interactive 'Living in Space' installation for SMASHfestUK 2018."Living in Space" will begin in Neath, then connect YIs from Wales with those from London through joint workshops supported by Middlesex University Department of Design Engineering & Mathematics, Swansea University, University of Greenwich Creative Industries, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Deptford Green School D&T Department & Dominic Wilcox's Young Inventors programme. MDXDEM & Greenwich will lead on direct development, manifestation & building of their space inventions with the YIs. Swansea University will consult on science & engineering, as will Rutherford Appleton Lab. Deptford Green School D&T students will partner with YIs, MDXDEM undergraduate students & professional scientists & engineers, to design & develop elements of "Living in Space". Dominic Wilcox's Young Inventors programme will partner & work with design ideas & inventions to feed into the development thinking, from participating primary schools. As part of the YI scheme, we'll pilot CREST certification, to ensure quality & give external validation to the YIs experiences. The programme will create a unique technical & creative ecology of STEM activists, ranging from primary school, through secondary, post-secondary, university & through to senior professional, working on a unique space-focussed, STEM public engagement project with an overarching narrative. This rolling out of the SMASHfestUK engagement model (narrative-lead & inquiry driven, designed to increase science capital in its audience) outside London to test its robustness, & the development of the YE model to "Young Innovators, is the last element of evidence gathering in our present phase. If evidence supports this work, we will be building on this by applying for larger grant funding (large awards from STFC, Big Lottery, Wellcome Trust Society Award) for 2018 onwards in order to become sustainable long term.