Catch a Star 2008
Each year the European Southern Observatory have a competition - Catch a Star - open to school students from all around the world. As I've said before, the aim is to encourage children to work together, learn about astronomy and to research things for themselves. Catch a Star actually consists of three competitions. The first is for teams of up to three students to research a particular topic in astronomy. This has the best prizes in my opinion with the winning group visiting the Paranal Observatory in Chile - home of the fantastic Very Large Telescope (VLT). Last year's winners made a short video of their trip and put it on YouTube. The second competition is aimed at larger groups and prizes of DVD-ROMs, t-shirts and posters are awarded by lottery. The third competition is for the best astronomy-themed artwork in different age groups. Previous years have seen some great entries and the winners are chosen with the help of a public vote. This year there will also be a special prize awarded by an astronomical artist.
The deadline for entries is 29th February 2008 (leap year day!) so head over to the ESO site to find out how to enter and what you need to do before it is too late.
Comments: Catch a Star 2008
Would they consider broadening this project to include all ages, not just children? A concept that has become popular here in the US is "lifelong learning," the idea that studying, taking classes, and broadening one's educational horizons, not just for career purposes, but for the sake of learning itself, is a worthwhile pursuit. It seems that knowledge of astronomy among the general public is very limited (as is knowledge about many other subjects). I recommend this observatory and other organizations consider adding a category of 18 and over to these contests. They might end up reaching out to a lot of people!
Posted by Laurel Kornfeld on Tuesday 23rd Oct 2007 (19:53 UTC)
Laurel, I don't know. You should ask this to ESO.
Posted by Stuart on Wednesday 24th Oct 2007 (06:23 UTC)
Laurel, especially for you I got the answer to your question by talking to Douglas Pierce-Price of ESO. He said that they are thinking of widening the competition out to over 18s for 2009. Listen to what he said on the Jodcast.
Posted by Stuart on Thursday 01st Nov 2007 (18:18 UTC)
I'm quite jealous that I never got a chance to participate in such a competition. Good luck to all future participants.
Posted by Juno on Wednesday 28th Nov 2007 (21:01 UTC)