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The
University of Bradford and Bradford College are helping Bradford
pupils to get the answers to such down-to-earth science questions
by providing opportunities for them to find answers themselves.
A unique
feature of this learning programme is that children can instruct
the Bradford Robotic Telescope in Tenerife to take pictures of the
Moon, the planets, their own star-sign constellation or their favourite
galaxy of stars via the Internet.
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| Year
6 children from Wellington Primary School |
The
package is completely free and internet-based so that everyone can
use it, from an individual child at home or a teacher wanting extra
resources to tackle Earth and Space. There is no requirement to
purchase special software. Children can register and log-on at school
and continue to use the system at home or anywhere with an internet
connection.
Year
Six children from Wellington Primary School in Bradford have been
testing the new telescope system. The children all got the chance
to image the Moon using the telescope and then used the images to
find the sites of the Apollo Moon landings. They also studied the
craters on the Moon, estimating their size and finding out how often
objects from across space smash into the surface of the Moon.
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| Kath
Norris has been helping Bradford school children use the robotic
telescope. |
Pupils
were given free-roam-access to the telescope to take any images
that they wanted - many chose to take real time pictures of their
star signs and others chose to take images of distant galaxies or
the planets.
The
reaction from the children as they get an image back from the telescope
is one of excitement and, as they learn to manipulate the images,
they are fascinated by the detail of outer space that is revealed
to them.
The
feel of the site is friendly - pupils are guided through the activities
by Telescope Ted who leads pupils through an interactive quiz in
order to gain 'star points'. These can be used in a variety of ways.
A predefined number of star points open up new areas of the site
so allowing an individual to access additional information including
more spectacular images.
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| Journeys
into space... |
The
Robotic Telescope team have been delighted with the reactions of
the children at Wellington Road Primary School and are well on with
the next stages of development. Dr
John Baruch, Team Leader of the Telescope Project, says:
"The telescope aspires to be the preferred route for teaching
astronomy in primary schools." Team members James Machell and
Kath Norris add: "Working with the teachers and pupils was
a real pleasure. We felt that our research was opening a new door
in education which led out of the classroom into the real world
beyond."
The
Bradford Robotic Telescope was launched as a research project in
robotics and astronomy in 1993. It was the first Robot on the Internet
and it focused on research although it received many applications
for observations from schools.
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| The
Bradford Robotic Telescope is at at the Observatorio del Teide
8,000 feet up on the Island of Tenerife. |
The
first robotic telescope operated in the Pennines not far from Hebden
Bridge. It suffered greatly from the weather conditions sometimes
with cloudy night skies for months on end.
The
whole system has now been rebuilt, and relocated to a good observing
site at the Observatorio del Teide on the Island of Tenerife. Although
it still does research the refurbishment has taken on board the
needs of school students from Key Stage 2 onwards. The telescope
is supported by a comprehensive website and this whole redevelopment
has been supported by a number of sponsors including the Nuffield
Foundation.
The
programme is called Learningscope and has been developed by the
Bradford team with an extended network of support. More information
on the ever expanding range of features that the telescope offers
can be found at www.telescope.org
along with pictures and technical details.
Kath
Norris is Senior Lecturer in Science Education at Bradford College
and co-author of a recent scientific paper, Riding Astronomy to
the Stars,
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