This year the StAnD Summer School in Marathon, Greece, welcomed a lively group of 14 teachers from five countries. Maths, physics and chemistry teachers worked alongside music and IT teachers during the week: remember that StAnD welcomes teachers of all subjects who are passionate about the night sky!
On the programme were informative sessions on small bodies in the Solar System, delivered by Dario Barghini (INAF), step-by-step exercises to learn about software for using robotic telescopes and observing asteroids, led by Lothar Kurtze (FTP Europlanet) and Gustavo Rojas (NUCLIO). We took the participants outside for a guided solar observation and organised a meteorite hunt after a sudden “fall” of meteorites was reported. Seda Ozdemir-Fritz (FTP Europlanet) showed them how (and where) to hunt for micro-meteorites – and why – and how to make the most of the micro-meteorite toolkit in class. By the end of the week, the teachers were confident with the StAnD activities and teaching approach.
On the final day, they were ready to present their own teaching scenarios, using the techniques and toolkits introduced during the summer school, which can be adapted to their classes when they get back home. This was the most valuable part of the week, and we were thrilled to see that everyone had plenty of activities and inspiration to take away!
If you couldn’t attend the StAnD Summer School but would like to learn more about the project and its user-friendly toolkits, why not sign up for the StAnD Online Academy here.