Young Astronomers Explore the Stars at Launch of New Astronomy Program

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Published on Tuesday, 03 January 2012 11:55

Ifrane, January 3, 2012 - Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane hosted on December 28, 2011, the official launch of the "UNiverse AWarEness for Young Children" (UNAWE) program in Morocco, with 60 students from six primary schools in the Ifrane-Azrou area participating. The international educational program uses the beauty and grandeur of the universe to inspire children aged 4-10 and to encourage them to develop an interest in science and technology (http://www.unawe.org). 

Organized by the Al Akhawayn Astronomy Club, the event took place within the framework of the Aldebaran project, which envisions the creation of astronomy clubs within the UNESCO associated schools network and their neighboring educational institutions in Morocco. For more information about the Aldebaran project, click here for a French-language overview. 

During the UNAWE launch, the students (grades 5-6) attended a hands-on workshop focused making a 3-D model of the constellation Orion. This activity was supervised by Dr. Hassane Darhmaoui (associate professor of physics at Al Akhawayn University and vice president of the network of amateur astronomers of Morocco, RAAM), and Mr. Hatim Madani (Aldebaran project coordinator). 

During the workshop, students showed particular interest in the activity that helped them appreciate the different categories of stars in the constellation Orion, their distances from Earth, their temperatures, ages, and sizes. They also learned the Arabic name for each of the major stars in the constellation (of particular note since the majority of visible stars in the sky have names of Arabic origin). A star-gazing session followed the workshop and students were able to directly observe Orion and other winter constellations. 

New activities are planned under the Moroccan UNAWE program for 2012. In addition, Al Akhawayn University will soon be opening its robotic observatory and helping to launch other new international training programs in astronomy (Galileo Teacher Training Program and Hands-On-Universe) for teachers in primary and secondary schools.