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The role of Observatories

The role of Observatories. Ian Robson UK ATC Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Astronomy ‘outreach’. We have three general categories: Producers astronomers, observatories, facilities Mediators (distributors) PIO professionals, PR depts, planetaria Deliverers

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The role of Observatories

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  1. The role of Observatories Ian Robson UK ATC Royal Observatory Edinburgh

  2. Astronomy ‘outreach’ • We have three general categories: • Producers • astronomers, observatories, facilities • Mediators (distributors) • PIO professionals, PR depts, planetaria • Deliverers • astronomers, enthusiasts, agencies, planetaria • Of course in reality many of these boundaries are very blurred – and this is a good thing

  3. Observatories • Observatories and facilities are the bedrock for the ‘Producers’ of outreach material • They provide the infrastructure to allowobservational astronomers to produce the exciting scientific results • They also provide the employment for many of the next category – the PIOs • Many provide a focus for direct outreach and members of the third category, including enthusiasts and amateur groups • They are often the repository of the history of the subject

  4. Fast Facts • Observatories span a wide range of capability and dedication to ‘outreach’ • research activity • funding • location • requirement

  5. Research Activity Cutting-edge, current state-of the-art Historical observatory (none) everything in between

  6. Location Location Location

  7. Funding for Outreach Government I wish! Foundation $$millions

  8. Mission • Many observatories and facilities undertake outreach as part of their ‘mission requirement’ – this is to be encouraged and an example of good practice from sponsoring agencies • Many operate outreach because of their inbuilt mission – driven by individuals – it is incumbent on all professionals and organisations to encourage this and support it wherever possible

  9. The Education Aspect • Many observatories have educational programmes directly linked to the school curriculum • Some have focused their efforts on the continued professional development of teachers – ‘teach the teachers’ • Many have visitor centres with clear educational themes, or staff that give lectures to school children with a curriculum related educational content

  10. A common denominator The Web

  11. How well do we do ? • View your web-page as if you were a complete stranger and member of the public • Is it attractive/exciting on first viewing? • How easy is it to find out the ‘information for the public’ section? • Is the directory tree sensible or just confusing? • Are the images all much bigger in size (pixels) than they need to be?

  12. The Big Picture • In trying to get a handle on where we stand worldwide I attempted to contact most of the ground-based observatories and offer them the opportunity to answer a simple questionnaire • These were 58 ground-based observatories plus 2 space-based (STScI and ESA Hubble) taken from: http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/astroweb/telspace.html • I tried to find each observatory from the web and from there contact their PIO or named contact person • as well as obtaining primary information (health of stock) this also served to test the effectiveness of the web-page, and the level of customer service • 18 replies received so far

  13. The questionnaire Total Outreach Funding per annum: Major source of funding Number of 'permanent' staff employed on outreach Number of part-time helpers Number of visitors per year Number of school children visits Do you have a formal programme of education? Attractions What do you feel has worked well in terms of outreachsuccess? What has not worked well?

  14. Number of research press releases per year Do you have good contacts with the local media? Do your stories get well covered and if so, what is the secret? What proportion (%) of research workers actively participate inoutreach?

  15. The answers Total Outreach Funding per annum: $2M to zero, average £290k Major source of funding: government, state, Number of 'permanent' staff employed on outreach: 0 - 20 Number of part-time helpers: very varied 300,000 Number of visitors:

  16. The answers – what worked • Ask the Astronomer • not just ‘professional’ • Open days/nights/looking through telescopes • Use of telescopes • Jodrell, Gemini/CFHT, ESO, Faulkes • Portable planetaria, visits to schools

  17. and what didn’t....... • Talks that went on for too long..... • Always fighting for resources...... • Place in the management train..... • Difficulty of getting quality exhibits for VC... • The unpredictability of the weather.....

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