CAP2021 Virtual will host 5 workshops over the 4 days of the conference. Below are the workshop descriptions.
WORKSHOP – Leveraging Virtual, Asynchronous Instruction to Teach Science Communication
DAY 1, May 24
Parallel Session 10, 17:00 – 18:00 UTC
SCOPE (Science Communication Online Programme) was launched in 2019 to reach STEM graduate students without access in-person science communication training. SCOPE is an asynchronous, modular online training program designed by science communication experts. While SCOPE was designed to be asynchronous, its modular approach allows for adaptation as part of a hybrid approach to science communication. We leveraged this feature in summer 2020, when all programming shifted to remote platforms due to the ongoing pandemic. In this workshop, we will briefly describe the history and development of SCOPE and illustrate how SCOPE was leveraged to convert Northwestern University’s in-person Research Communication Training Program (RCTP)
into a synchronous, remote science communication training program. In breakout rooms, participants will engage in activities selected from a SCOPE module discussing the content and providing feedback to one another. Following the activity, participants will receive evaluation results on the effectiveness of SCOPE and initial evaluation results from the first offering of the hybrid approach that ran in Summer 2020. At the end of the session, the participants will have sampled a new resource for remote skill development and received insight on how to integrate asynchronous instruction with synchronous, remote sessions of science communication training as a model for other similar offerings.
Session Plan:
0-15 minutes – Introduction, why science communication training, history of SCOPE and RCTP, and how these were adapted during the pandemic
15-30 minutes – Example module activity from SCOPE in breakout rooms (~4 people per room) along with a whole-group report out.
30-40 minutes – Evaluation data
40-60 minutes – Q&A and closing
WORKSHOP – Podcast as Astronomy Storytelling
DAY 2, May 25
Parallel Session 19, 11:00 – 12:00 UTC
We will discuss how to craft the idea and make it as a good story telling and workshop leaders will provide feedback to participants at all stages. And we divide the workshop in 3 parts.
15 minutes : Introduction and how to craft your story presentation.
20 minutes: Participants craft their idea and short story
25 minutes: Participants share their idea.
WORKSHOP – “Zero Shadow Day” – a low-cost event for the Tropics’
DAY 3, May 26
Parallel Session 29, 04:30 – 05:30 UTC
If you live at a place between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and talk to people about astronomy, this is a workshop for you. We would like to inform you about a simple, exciting, day-time event which costs almost nothing and you can organise it on your own, without help from outside. Come find out about “Zero Shadow Day” (ZSD) at your place when you could not only make people hunt for shadows at local noon, but also talk to them about anything like the Sun, it’s motions in the sky, seasons and geography, daytime astronomy and so on. There is no need for specialised equipment to show it, but we will make you aware of as many resources as possible for you to make it fun / useful to organise the event.
The flow of the workshop will be like this.
1) Basic details of what causes minimum shadows on a “Zero Shadow Day” – 20 minutes.
2) Some simple activities to try out – 10 minutes
3) Inventory of ZSD outreach resources made by us and others – 10 minutes
4) Discussion and planning a large scale activity to engage people during and around this event – 20 minutes
We request you to bring these things along when you join the workshop
* A flashlight / torch
* A straight long object eg. a pencil, a thick straw, piece of pipe etc.
* Few sheets of blank paper
* A small globe (if possible)
WORKSHOP – Co-creation of a Future IAU Science Communication Training Workshop
DAY 4, May 27
Parallel Session 34, 21:30 – 22:30 UTC
The IAU, with support from the Kavli Foundation, is in the process of developing a science communication training program. At this CAP workshop, we will present the latest research in science communication training, as well as the results of needs assessment study and use this as the foundation for a community discussion. We hope to access the collective expertise of the CAP audience and request that participants in this workshop provide input into the content and format of the future training program. To begin this workshop, we will have two short presentations followed by brief group discussions. We will then engage in an activity in which the participants can directly provide input, and discuss in small groups. To wrap up, we will return to a full group discussion, and attempt to synthesize all the information touched on during the hour.
WORKSHOP – Creating Astronomical Images with the Hubble Space Telescope
DAY 4, MAY 27, Parallel Session 39, 23:00 – 00:00 UTC
In this workshop, we will access and search the MAST database on the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) for raw image data acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and process the data to compose RGB Images of astronomical objects using the free software tool SAO Image DS9. After a brief demonstration, the attendees will engage in the hands-on activity, searching the data and composing their own images.
Time Breakdown:
10 min – Hubble Space Telescope instruments introduction.
10 min – MAST Database search interface presentation.
10 min – SAO Image DS9 introduction and RGB composition demonstration.
30 min – Hands-On activity.
Attendees must download and install SAO Image DS9, available at:
https://sites.google.com/cfa.harvard.edu/saoimageds9/download
HST data should be downloaded through an FTP client or Mozilla Firefox Browser.