With revolutionary facilities such as the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and the new LOFAR, participation in global projects like ESA, ESO and SKA, as well as world-class astronomy institutes, the Netherlands has always been on the forefront of astronomy. Despite this excellent knowledge in astronomy, the Netherlands is currently experiencing a steady decrease in people choosing science or technology careers.
Moreover, in the Dutch educational system, astronomy is not part of the curriculum at primary school level. Primary school teachers therefore do not have the tools and often lack the confidence to bring astronomy into their classrooms. Over the next couple of years, the Dutch EU-UNAWE team will raise the profile of astronomy in primary education and the public by giving teachers more confidence and by introducing children to the wonders of the Universe.
The team achieves this by providing workshops for primary school teachers, showing them relatively simple and hands-on ways to introduce astronomy in their classrooms. They will also reach the children in more direct ways, by organising astronomy activities for children in science centres or by bringing them astronomy news and activities through the Dutch EU-UNAWE website or through the collaboration with the NRC Handelsblad, a very influential Dutch newspaper.
Profiles:
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- Frederiek Westra van Holthe, Dutch National Project Coordinator : |
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- Wouter Schrier, Dutch National Project Manager : As an astronomer, Wouter has been very active in astronomy outreach and education during his university years at Leiden University. By doing this, he built up a lot of experience in teaching astronomy to children, inspiring them with the beauty and grandeur of the Universe. |
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- Iris Nijman, Dutch Science Writer (part-time) : Iris is a master student in Biomedical Sciences at Leiden and will soon graduate. She specialized in science communication and wrote various articles for the science page of a local Dutch newspaper. For Iris it's a joy to write about science for the broad public . |
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