The birth of gravitational astronomy creates a new focus on general relativity, and presents enormous opportunities, and a substantial responsibility, for educating the public on discoveries that will change the way we view the Universe. OzGrav embraces these opportunities, through its national Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program – for the general public, for schools, and for eager citizen scientists.
OzGrav researchers work with numerous outreach partners, including the Gravity Discovery Centre (GDC), a spectacular $10 million dollar, 1500 m2 outreach facility, co-located at the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre (AIGRC) in Gingin, in Western Australia. The Gravity Discovery Centre houses exhibitions on black holes, cosmology, fundamental physics and technology, lecture theatre, and a major public astronomy facility. We are developing new outreach programs and materials for use across all of OzGrav's research nodes. We are producing short animations, videos and social media content to make gravitational wave physics more accessible to schools and the general public. Our Schools Program will be launched in 2018. Please contact epo@ozgrav.org with any educational or outreach requests.
OzGrav researchers work with numerous outreach partners, including the Gravity Discovery Centre (GDC), a spectacular $10 million dollar, 1500 m2 outreach facility, co-located at the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre (AIGRC) in Gingin, in Western Australia. The Gravity Discovery Centre houses exhibitions on black holes, cosmology, fundamental physics and technology, lecture theatre, and a major public astronomy facility. We are developing new outreach programs and materials for use across all of OzGrav's research nodes. We are producing short animations, videos and social media content to make gravitational wave physics more accessible to schools and the general public. Our Schools Program will be launched in 2018. Please contact epo@ozgrav.org with any educational or outreach requests.
School outreach program - Victoria
Take a trip in virtual reality to study the stars!
Mission Gravity! combines classic scientific modeling with immersive virtual reality. In this incursion, students will collaborate in teams to create a model of stellar evolution by collecting and analysing data from a virtual trip to nearby stars. Students will use the laws of physics and the freedom of virtual reality to learn about how stars change over time and the tools scientists can use to study stars.
This 90-minute incursion aligns with standards in the Australian Curriculum and is most appropriate for students in years 7 - 10 and VCE Physics with the content scaled accordingly.
Book HERE
Click here for Curriculum Links and Learning Outcomes
Mission Gravity! combines classic scientific modeling with immersive virtual reality. In this incursion, students will collaborate in teams to create a model of stellar evolution by collecting and analysing data from a virtual trip to nearby stars. Students will use the laws of physics and the freedom of virtual reality to learn about how stars change over time and the tools scientists can use to study stars.
This 90-minute incursion aligns with standards in the Australian Curriculum and is most appropriate for students in years 7 - 10 and VCE Physics with the content scaled accordingly.
Book HERE
Click here for Curriculum Links and Learning Outcomes
OzGrav will also host teacher workshops related to our schools program as well as other modern physics and astrophysics topics. These will provide professional development opportunities for teachers to learn new content and design ways to incorporate it into their classrooms.
Are you interested in learning more about the OzGrav Schools and Teachers’ programs? Subscribe here to receive updates when OzGrav is launching new programs! (We promise to only use your email for good… that means will will only occasionally send you updates when we have new programs to share)! Programs currently available in Victoria and testing in other States in 2019.
Are you interested in learning more about the OzGrav Schools and Teachers’ programs? Subscribe here to receive updates when OzGrav is launching new programs! (We promise to only use your email for good… that means will will only occasionally send you updates when we have new programs to share)! Programs currently available in Victoria and testing in other States in 2019.
AMIGO
- ADELAIDE's MINI INTERFEROMETER for
Gravitational-WAVE OUTREACH
Adelaide’s Mini Interferometer for Gravitational-wave Outreach (AMIGO) is a tool used to demonstrate the principles of laser interferometry and gravitational wave detection. By visually demonstrating the interference of light and the sensitivity of Michelson interferometers, AMIGO allows us to connect with the general public in new and exciting ways.
AMIGO has been developed with support from the University of Adelaide (UoA) School of Physical Sciences, UoA Faculty of Sciences workshop and the Australia National Fabrication Facility Optofab node.
Interferometer showcased at:
UoA Open Day for people of all ages on 12 Aug 2018;
GW170817 celebration event showing potential projects for undergraduate students on 17 Aug 2018;
Photonics Open Day for high school and undergraduate students hosted by the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Seeing (IPAS) on 6 Sep 2018;
High school student demonstration for Year 12 students at University Senior College (USC) in 2018;
OzGrav Annual Retreat demonstration for researchers and outreach staff, 8 Dec 2018.
Interferometer showcased at:
UoA Open Day for people of all ages on 12 Aug 2018;
GW170817 celebration event showing potential projects for undergraduate students on 17 Aug 2018;
Photonics Open Day for high school and undergraduate students hosted by the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Seeing (IPAS) on 6 Sep 2018;
High school student demonstration for Year 12 students at University Senior College (USC) in 2018;
OzGrav Annual Retreat demonstration for researchers and outreach staff, 8 Dec 2018.
Einstein First Project - Western Australia
OzGrav’s Einstein First Project led by CI Prof David Blair (UWA) is an education project seeking to introduce Einsteinian physics seamlessly throughout the school curriculum. In 2017, five postgraduate students were involved in developing and testing exciting new ways to introduce Einsteinian thinking from early on in the school curriculum. These programs allow students to learn experientially, and in 2017 we engaged with many school students from Year 5 to Year 10, and with primary and secondary school teachers. Gravitational wave detectors and the discovery of gravitational waves from coalescing black holes provides a perfect context for teaching about general relativity and quantum mechanics. By bringing students into contact with young PhD students we also try to teach that science is for everyone and that scientists are ordinary people with interesting lives. Visit https://www.einsteinianphysics.com/einstein-first-programs
At early ages we concentrate on a few key questions like what is space? what is time? what is light? and what is gravity? Our goal is to open the minds of both children and teachers to the fact that a) there are answers to the above questions, b) the answers are not trivial and c) in most cases the answers are different from those taught by most teachers.
To understand space, we focus on geometry and arithmetic with questions like what is a straight line? Once we have explored the concept of a straight line we are ready to do experimental geometry on different surfaces. Through simple experiments (like using upturned woks to explore the geometry of triangles!) students discover that the laws of geometry depend on the shape of the surface. At Year 7 levels and above students enjoy learning that the standard formulae of geometry are only approximations because space is curved.
To understand light, we first introduce students to the concept of photons, particles of light. We use soft toy bullets to mimic photons and the recoil of interferometer mirrors to teach about the momentum of photons. Here we create foundational thinking about mathematics that goes beyond normal arithmetic, to determine where photons will arrive in experiments where light can take two alternative paths. They will experiment with this using simple experiments with lasers. The most interesting results obtained so far from the Einstein-First project are the following:
To understand space, we focus on geometry and arithmetic with questions like what is a straight line? Once we have explored the concept of a straight line we are ready to do experimental geometry on different surfaces. Through simple experiments (like using upturned woks to explore the geometry of triangles!) students discover that the laws of geometry depend on the shape of the surface. At Year 7 levels and above students enjoy learning that the standard formulae of geometry are only approximations because space is curved.
To understand light, we first introduce students to the concept of photons, particles of light. We use soft toy bullets to mimic photons and the recoil of interferometer mirrors to teach about the momentum of photons. Here we create foundational thinking about mathematics that goes beyond normal arithmetic, to determine where photons will arrive in experiments where light can take two alternative paths. They will experiment with this using simple experiments with lasers. The most interesting results obtained so far from the Einstein-First project are the following:
- Students are entirely receptive to the foundational ideas.
- Knowledge testing before and after interventions show that student learning outcomes are independent of their prior knowledge.
- Girls attitudes to science improve more than the boys, from much lower prior attitudes to near equality with the boys after the programs.
Gravity Spy - Citizen Science
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Pitch in and help LIGO scientists on the search for gravitational waves. Join the Zooniverse project and classify "glitches" - noises or errors in the data collection from equipment or the environment.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/gravity-spy |
SCIVR - Teacher classroom resources
These classroom materials focus on key science concepts introduced in the SciVR app. The app is free to download, and can be used in headset mode (double screen) or non-headset mode (single screen).
Solar System
Give students the opportunity to learn more about the scale of our solar system and how different the planets are from each other. Presentation and activities.
Give students the opportunity to learn more about the scale of our solar system and how different the planets are from each other. Presentation and activities.
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| spaced_out_scale_models.pptx |
Properties of Stars
The light we see from stars tells us a lot about them. Use this activity to show students the connection between the colour of stars and their properties.
The light we see from stars tells us a lot about them. Use this activity to show students the connection between the colour of stars and their properties.
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Light and the Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum
What exactly is light? Explore the entire spectrum of light.
What exactly is light? Explore the entire spectrum of light.
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| the_electromagnetic_spectrum.pptx |
Signals from Space
How do we know where things are in space? Use this activity to explore what astronomers call signal localisation.
How do we know where things are in space? Use this activity to explore what astronomers call signal localisation.
| attack_of_the_giant_space_bananas.docx |
ozgrav ambassadors
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Cameron McEvoy
Australian Olympic Swimmer Physics & Mathematics Undergraduate @ Griffith University |
Alan Duffy
Research Astronomer @ Swinburne University of Technology TV Personality |
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