Guidelines and Resources

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On and around 13-20 February 2020, IAU100 will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the iconic Pale Blue Dot Image by encouraging event organisers to look back at Earth and how astronomy shows us the place of our home planet in the universe and can help us address global challenges.

 

To encourage the themes of global citizenship and environmental awareness, a growing list of relevant educational astronomy resources and guidelines has been compiled for interested event organisers of the IAU100 Pale Blue Dot global project. If you have guidelines or resources that you believe should be included in this list, please contact Bethany Downer. 

 

Event Visuals

Two special event visuals have been created for the IAU100 Pale Blue Dot global event. The source files are available for everyone to translate and disseminate in their communities to help spread the word about this event!

 

Guidelines for Organizing Inclusive and Accessible Astronomy Activities

This collection of resources and guidelines includes best practices for running inclusive events, as well as educational materials on the theme of inclusive astronomy

 

Slideshow

This short presentation was created by IAU100 to discuss the role of the Pale Blue Dot Image in the context of astronomy, global citizenship and climate action and also presents some activity ideas.

 

Earthrise Video (New York Times)

The first people to see the Earth from the moon were transformed by the experience. In this film, they tell their story.

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From Medicine to Wi-Fi; Technical Applications of Astronomy to Society (IAU Booklet)

How does astronomy technology help us here on Earth? This booklet was published in 2019 for the International Astronomical Union, which details developments in astronomy that have permeated throughout modern-day life. The practical uses of astronomy are not always obvious, but the field has had an impact reaching well beyond observing the night sky.

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Science Diplomacy through Astronomy: Celebrating our Common Humanity (IAU Office for Astronomy Development)

This page includes an outline of why the exploitation of astronomy and space is such a powerful way of stimulating those UN SDGs that are relevant for stimulating globalism, in addition to sample educational implementation activities and resources.

 

Blue Marble in Empty Space (astroEDU activity)

Students are taken on a virtual journey to outer space to experience that we live on a tiny planet that floats in a vast and empty space.

 

The Voyager Project (spaceEU) 

Make your own Golden Voyager Disk by collecting messages that describe humankind to aliens in the Universe. What is important to us and what connects us all? An example of this activity being conducted as part of the Galileo Mobile initiative here.

 

Education for Global Citizenship: A Guide for Schools (Oxfam)

 

Global Citizenship in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers (Oxfam)

 

Global Citizenship Workshop (Act for Change). 
A discussion-based overview on global citizenship as it pertains to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Space Awareness Our Fragile Planet activities

The “Our Fragile Planet” open online course aims to empower teachers from all levels of education to teach space- and astronomy-related topics to their students. This online course is built in such a way that all teachers can participate, focusing especially on those who are interested in astronomy but never had the opportunity to learn more about it or who have very little background information and do not feel comfortable communicating basic information about our planet to their students.

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