The American Astronomical Society is sponsoring a skill-building workshop — and an ongoing community — to support early-career astronomers (graduate students, post-docs, recent faculty) in doing effective outreach to schools, families, and the public. Working with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and other outreach organizations, the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program (now in its fifth year) offers you two days of hands-on training, extensive resources and pre-tested activities (plus a like-minded group of peers.) If you are a younger astronomer with an interest in spending a fraction of your time helping students or the public become more scientifically literate, this is an invitation to join the growing Ambassadors community.
Among many other topics, we will discuss the opportunity for astronomy education represented by the Aug. 21, 2017 “All-American” eclipse of the Sun, and what programs, resources, and ideas are already being developed to help you do classroom and public outreach for it.
For now, some of the costs are being underwritten by the AAS Council (so registration and materials are free; and one night’s lodging can be provided). The workshop for the “Astronomy Ambassadors” program will be held on the day before and part of the first day (January 3-4) of the January 2017 AAS meeting. Participants will spend two active days learning techniques, examining selected materials, and getting to know both each other and an existing community of astronomers who do and support outreach activities. There will be sessions appropriate for those who have done outreach already and for those who are just beginners. No experience is required. We especially want to encourage participation by members of groups underrepresented in science.
Applications are due by no later than Oct. 17, 2016.
For more about the program, see: http://aas.org/outreach/aas-astronomy-ambassadors-program
For more information about the 2017 workshop, visit: https://aas.org/meetings/aas229/aas-astronomy-ambassadors-workshop
To complete an online application, go to: https://aas.org/content/aas-astronomy-ambassadors-program-2017-application