Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2022

Astronomical Connections

Ms Gerri Bernard Head of Department, Science Curriculum Development

International spotlight on the BGGS observational astronomy program

Earlier this year, I attended the 2022 Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education Conference (RTSRE) in Santa Barbara, California after being invited to give a presentation about the Dorothy Hill Observatory and our School’s integration of observational astronomy into the Science curriculum.

The conference provided a fantastic opportunity to learn from other astronomy researchers and educators (and from their students) about various observational astronomy programs at secondary and tertiary institutions worldwide. A variety of new, user-friendly analytical tools and applications were showcased which could easily be integrated into our own curriculum at Girls Grammar In addition, it was very interesting to listen to presentations from secondary students, who are engaged in observational astronomy research projects very similar to those undertaken by our own BGGS students in the Student-Teacher Astronomy Research Symposium (STARS) My presentation outlined the observational astronomy program that we have developed at BGGS and was very well-received. In particular, attendees were very impressed that we had developed such a robust program on our own, without relying on a partner university or other astronomical institution In addition to attending workshops and presenting, it was also valuable to liaise with the other attendees— many of whom were familiar to me from the 2019 RTSRE conference, and who have been great resources for the Dorothy Hill Observatory in the time since then Renewing connections with my international colleagues and developing new professional relationships with astronomy educators from around the world is not only gratifying on a personal level—to be amongst like-minded educators—but it also helps to grow our own program and inspire new thinking Attending the 2022 RTSRE conference was an extremely rewarding experience The knowledge I have gained will aid my efforts to expand the capabilities of the Dorothy Hill Observatory and I believe it was a great venue for introducing our program to a broad, international audience ■

above Ms Gerri Bernard

Gazette

Brisbane Girls Grammar School

26

Issue 2, 2022