Scientific Research and Astronomy Education:
the OAVdA Experience
Andrea Bernagozzi on behalf of the staff
of the “Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS”
www.oavda.it
Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010
Cape Town (South Africa), 19 March 2010
OAVdA stands for Astronomical Observatory
of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley,
managed by the “Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS”
with funding from local administrations
Credit Paolo Calcidese-OAVdA
A quick look at the OAVdA
• northwestern italian Alps
• 1675 m above sea level
in the Saint-Barthélemy
Valley
• opened in 2003
• since 2005-2006 actively
involved in international
research projects
• scientific team in 2010:
5 physicists, EU-ESF grant
permanently residing
in the Observatory
Scientific research projects: formal agreement of cooperation
with the italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF)
four topics:
• Solar Corona
• Asteroids
• Transiting
Extrasolar
Planets
• Active
Galactic
Nuclei
810 mm f/7.8
Bowen-Vaughan reflector
Scientific research projects: formal agreement of cooperation
with the italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF)
four topics:
400 mm f/8
Ritchey-Chrétien
reflector
• Solar Corona
• Asteroids
• Transiting
Extrasolar
Planets
• Active
Galactic
Nuclei
the meteo-seeing corner
250 mm f/20 Maksutov
250 mm f/8
Maksutov
Scientific research projects: formal agreement of cooperation
with the italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF)
four topics:
• Solar Corona
• Asteroids
• Transiting
Extrasolar
Planets
• Active
Galactic
Nuclei
telescope mount “Jolanda” with EKPol,
a Liquid Crystal Variable Retarder (LCVR)
based polarimeter [14 March 2006, Italy]
Scientific research projects: formal agreement of cooperation
with the italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF)
four topics:
• Solar Corona
• Asteroids
• Transiting
Extrasolar
Planets
• Active
Galactic
Nuclei
telescope mount “Jolanda” with EKPol,
a Liquid Crystal Variable Retarder (LCVR)
based polarimeter [29 March 2006, Libya]
Public Outreach & Education: fundamental activities at the OAVdA
• scientific
research and
PO&E are
‘the mission’
declared in
the Statute
passed by the
Regional
legislative
bodies
the Heliophysics Laboratory
250 mm mirror, achromatic 120 mm f/16.5 lens
• need for the
admission fee
(min € 2,50max € 10,00
in 2010)
Public Outreach & Education: fundamental activities at the OAVdA
the Teaching Platform
seven 250 mm f/10 Cassegrain reflectors
• scientific
research and
PO&E are
‘the mission’
declared in
the Statute
passed by the
Regional
legislative
bodies
• need for the
admission fee
(min € 2,50max € 10,00
in 2010)
Why should someone come and visit our Observatory?
Credit Patrizia Besenval+Piero Rosset
Public Outreach & Education: OAVdA theoretical framework
the natural link between PO&E and scientific research
the concept:
knowledge we meet in life now (at school, at work etc) is the result
of scientific researches made by scientists 10, 100, 1000 years ago...
so knowledge that we will meet in life tomorrow is the result
of scientific researches that scientists are making today
including scientific research made at the OAVdA
“egg of Columbus”
Public Outreach & Education: OAVdA theoretical framework
the natural link between PO&E and scientific research
the method:
physicists at the OAVdA are necessarily involved (30% of their time)
in PO&E activities about their own research topic, «know 10 to say 1»
the goal:
to open and establish a channel between society and OAVdA
& to show connections between science and everyday life
by communicating live the context of scientific research
(people, method, results, meaning)
The appeal of scientific research:
some ‘experimental’ results
with schools and public at large
why should someone come and visit our Observatory?
+
the natural link between PO&E and scientific research
=
a case study about people’s attitude towards science
(only raw data)
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Astronomy Education with the schools
very snowy winter
and rainy spring
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
three experiences with students&teachers in the Aosta Valley
schools asked us for, triggered by IYA2009
Experience I: introducing the world of scientific research
Experience II: facing a real problem of scientific research
Experience III: working in a real scientific research project
in cooperation with
the Regional Board
of Education
of the Aosta Valley
Experience I
in the multi-year education activity Saint-Roch Étoiles (2008-2013) hundreds of
pupils from 5 to 12 years old of the “Istituzione Scolastica Saint-Roch” in Aosta are
introduced to the world of scientific research through ‘meet the scientist’ sessions
http://www.scuole.vda.it/stroch/progetto_etoiles/frame2.htm
Experience I
in the multi-year education activity Saint-Roch Étoiles (2008-2013) hundreds of
pupils from 5 to 12 years old of the “Istituzione Scolastica Saint-Roch” in Aosta are
introduced to the world of scientific research through ‘meet the scientist’ sessions
http://www.scuole.vda.it/stroch/progetto_etoiles/frame2.htm
Experience II
in the education activity Oltre Galileo… La Vallée guarda lontano (2008-2009)
18 years old students of the “Istituzione Scolastica Binel-Viglino” in Pont-SaintMartin and in Saint-Vincent faced a real problem of scientific research:
the calculation of the heliocentric distance of an asteroid at the opposition
from an original data set collected during the research activity at the OAVdA
 4 1 1

r  
2




2
with
 148 / 
2
1
x
Experience III
In the education activity Tutti pazzi per Marte (2007-2008) both teachers
and 18 years old students of the “Istituzione Scolastica Binel-Viglino” in PontSaint-Martin and in Saint-Vincent worked together with the physicist at the
OAVdA in a real research project: the measure of the distance of planet Mars
from Earth with the parallax method during Mars’ approach for 2008 opposition
Experience III
Experience III
The education activity Tutti pazzi per Marte was made in cooperation with the
University of Milan, Italy, and the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA).
Being a real research project, the method developed with students and teachers
during the initiative brought to two papers published on italian and international
peer-reviewed journals:
D. Cenadelli, M. Zeni, A. Bernagozzi, P. Calcidese, L. Ferreira, C. Hoang, C. Rijsdijk,
“An international parallax campaign to measure distance to the Moon and Mars”,
European Journal of Physics Vol.30, n. 1, January 2009, pp. 35-46
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009EJPh...30...35C
D. Cenadelli, M. Zeni, A. Bernagozzi, P. Calcidese, L. Ferreira, C. Hoang, C. Rijsdijk,
“La parallasse e la misura della distanza di Marte”, Giornale di Fisica, Vol. L, n. 2,
April-June 2009, pp. 117-125
http://www.sif.it/SIF/it/portal/riviste/gdf
(the result was 0.9825 AU when the real value was 0.9384 AU: such a good value is
partly due to chance because of the chosen approximations)
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Public outreach with the public
very good weather
all along the summer
very snowy winter
and rainy spring
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
did you know that the OAVdA is a research centre?
YES = 63%
NO = 37%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
if yes, was it important in choosing to come and visit the OAVdA?
YES = 82%
NO = 18%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
if no, did you appreciate this aspect of the OAVdA during your visit?
YES = 100%
NO = 0%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
do you feel your astronomy knowledge was improved after the visit?
YES = 96%
NO = 4%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
will you go on improving your astronomy knowledge after the visit?
YES = 89%
NO = 11%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The appeal of scientific research: some ‘experimental’ results
Q&A with 200 visitors
cost-benefit analysis (travel, meals, change in habits, cold&dark…)
BENEFIT>COST = 99.5%
COST>BENEFIT = 0.5%
Ref: q&a collected in the period 22 December 2007-8 march 2008 and published in
C. Bottazzi, Analisi economica del distretto culturale: modello sistemico per lo sviluppo
territoriale sostenibile. Il caso: Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle
d’Aosta, Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, laurea triennale (Bachelor’s degree),
Università della Valle d’Aosta, a.a. 2006-2007
The OAVdA experience as a contribution for building on IYA2009
conclusions: ‘strong indications’ that scientific research
can work to insipire and engage students, teachers and public
to climb the mountain and beyond…
The next big thing: a planetarium at 1633 m above sea level!
“virtual visit of the cosmos” based on science made at the OAVdA
849 students and 3362 people in 6 months
The appeal of scientific research: 15246 attendees in 2009
visiting the OAVdA and the Planetarium
(very old-style media campaign)
staff in 2009 = 10
1524.6 attendees/staff member
staff in 2010 = 12
the staff of the “Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS” in 2010: from left to right Patrizia Dondeynaz,
Albino Carbognani,Paolo Calcidese, Erika Bancod, Enzo Bertolini (director), Andrea Bernagozzi, Liliana
Laval, Paolo Pellissier, Mario Damasso, Paolo Recaldini, Giorgio Toso; up in the frame: Matteo Soldi
We thank for supporting the Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS
through different channels
Regional Government
of the Aosta Valley
Mont Emilius Community
Town Administration
of Nus
European Union
European Social Fund
Scientific Research and Astronomy Education:
the OAVdA Experience
Andrea Bernagozzi on behalf of the staff
of the “Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS”
[email protected]
tot siens!
hamba kahle!