Type I: Hands-On Astronomy: Observational Activities with a Barrier Free 16-Inch Telescope

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Astronomy (11) This project involves construction of a handicapped-accessible undergraduate student observatory containing a 16-inch telescope and a wide array of ancillary equipment. Laboratory exercises developed at Gettysburg College and elsewhere are being adapted and combined with locally-conceived observational activities to provide non-science majors and pre-service teachers with direct, hands-on experience with modest, yet state-of-the-art, instrumentation that emulates the practice of real astronomers. This installation also offers opportunities for advanced undergraduates to carry out long-term projects emphasizing modern observational principles and techniques. By partnering with neighboring Henry Ford Community College (HFCC), Dearborn students gain access to the HFCC planetarium in exchange for time at the observatory. This project fosters improvements in teaching and learning by effectively integrating and adapting established technology previously employed successfully in education, by implementing results of science education research that demonstrates the value of hands-on, inquiry-based exercises in enhancing student learning, and by emphasizing important astronomical principles relating to structure and motion, and thereby directly addresses intellectual merit. This initiative also addresses broader impact through its focus on barrier-free access for persons with disabilities, its targeting of significant concepts relevant to the content needs of pre-service teachers and physics majors alike, and its development/dissemination of laboratory exercises suitable for use at institutions possessing small observatories.