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Outreach Programmes
 It
is desirable that the citizens of
the world rediscover their place in
the Universe through the day and
night time sky, and thereby engage a
personal sense of wonder and
discovery. It is important that all
human beings realise the impact of
astronomy and basic sciences on our
daily lives, and understand better
how scientific knowledge can
contribute to a more equitable and
peaceful society. This is why the
United Nations in its 62nd General
Assembly proclaimed 2009 as the
International Year of Astronomy (IYA
2009), with the central theme “The
Universe, Yours to Discover”.
With the International Year of
Astronomy 2009 (IYA 2009) we
celebrate a momentous event, the
first astronomical use of a
telescope by Galileo, an invention
that initiated 400 years of
incredible astronomical discoveries;
and pay homage to one of the
greatest of scientists. Indeed,
Galileo’s telescope triggered a
scientific revolution which has
profoundly affectedour world view.
“Pure logical thinking”, Einstein
once wrote, “cannot yield us any
knowledge of the empirical world;
all knowledge of reality starts from
experience and ends in it. Because
Galileo saw this, and particularly
he drummed it into the scientific
world, he is the father of modern
physics – indeed of modern science
altogether.”
In
each participating country, the IYA
2009 activities will take place
locally, regionally and nationally.
Vigyan Prasar has chalked out an
ambitious campaign with production
of a 52-episode radio serial in 19
Indian languages including English,
to be broadcast from over 100
stations of All India Radio, and a
26-episode television serial on
astronomy along with publications
and development of a variety of
software; and training programmes at
different levels. An important part
of the campaign would be activities
built around the total solar eclipse
of 22 July 2009 which would be
visible in India. While celebrating
this event we should be guided by
the spirit of adventure and
questioning that had motivated
Galileo, says Professor Jayant V.
Narlikar.
The details of the activities
undertaken/ to be undertaken by
Vigyan Prasar as part of its
outreach campaign are given below.
1.
Outreach Programmes: International
Year of Astronomy 2009
1.
Radio Serial on Astronomy
Production and broadcast of a 52 -
episode radio serial on astronomy in
19 major Indian languages including
English. The programme would be
simultaneously broadcast from 117
stations of All India Radio
throughout the country from
January/February 2009. The work on
this project has already begun.
2. Television Serial on Astronomy
Production and telecast of a 26
episode television serial on
astronomy in Hindi. The programme
would be telecast from the National
Channel of Doordarshan on Sunday
morning in the slot 0900-0930 hrs.
Later, the 26 episodes would be
dubbed into 12 major Indian
languages and telecast from the
regional Doordarshan Kendras (TV
Stations) through regional network
of Doordarshan spread in the
country. The work on this project
has already begun.
3. Publications
Publication of about 10 titles at
popular level on various topics of
astronomy in English and Hindi.
These titles would be translated
into other Indian languages later
on.
4. Activity Kit
Development of a low cost activity
kit-cum-educational package
containing 25-30 activities on basic
aspects/phenomena of astronomy. The
activity kit would be brought out in
English and Hindi. This has already
been developed, and contains a safe
solar-viewer.
5. Demonstrations
Lecture / demonstrations on various
aspects of astronomy in association
with Scientists / organizations
working in the field of astronomy /
astrophysics.
6. Training
Training programmes for resource
persons from different regions /
states of India. The trained
resource persons would in turn train
more communicators in their states /
provinces, deliver talks and conduct
activities on popular aspects of
astronomy. This programme would be
organized in collaboration with
government / non-government
organizations engaged in science /
astronomy popularization.
7. Workshops
Telescope making workshops would be
organized in different parts of the
country.
2.
Outreach
Programmes: Total Solar Eclipse 2009
At School Level
Lectures / demonstrations, quiz /
essay /elocution competitions,at
district / state levels, and a few
simple projects.
The first three winners at the state
levels would win a trip to the belt
of totality at a suitable place, to
watch the eclipse as a prize.
Thematic charts, posters, activity
packages, booklets, and audio /
video programmes on different
aspects of the eclipse would be
produced for the purpose.
6-8 regional workshops-cum-training
programmes on telescope making would
be organized, each region
representing 3-4 states. In each
workshop, 20-25 telescopes would be
fabricated. The telescope fabricated
would be utilized to observe the
eclipse and initiate astronomy
activities in respective schools.
At Public Level
Lectures / demonstrations,
exhibitions, and preparation /
dissemination of posters and
booklets on various topics.
Articles in newspapers and
magazines, booklets on specific
topics
Production of radio / television
programmes; and their broadcast /
telecast
Conscious attempts to be made to
encourage people to observe the
eclipse with necessary precautions
Address unscientific
beliefs/superstitions associated
with eclipses and other astronomical
phenomena.
Specific Efforts
Utilizing Vigyan Prasar Network
(VIPNET) of Science Clubs – 8,000
clubs, mostly in rural areas
Astronomy Cubs in schools
Organization special activities for
VIPNET clubs
Distribution Activity kits on
Astronomy / TSE 2009
Amateur Radio - Study of propagation
of HF / VHF radio waves
Live Telecast / Webcast
An unique feature during TSE 1995
was the live telecast of the event
by Doordarshan. This was a result of
the close collaboration of VP and
Doordarshan. This time too, VP would
collaborate with Doordarshan to
bring the entire event live on
television sets in every home.
Webcast of the entire event on VP’s
website
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