Assessing the influence of one astronomy camp over 50 years

Abstract

The International Astronomical Youth Camp has benefited thousands of lives during its 50-year history. We explore the pedagogy behind this success, review a survey taken by more than 300 previous participants, and discuss some of the challenges the camp faces in the future.Summer camps have been enriching the lives of young people for over 100 years. There are now numerous camps dedicated to space and astronomy, such as Space Camp (1982), AstroCamp (USA, 1988), Space School (UK, 1989) and the European Space Camp (1996). Established in 1969, the International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) predates these camps by more than a decade and, as far as we are aware, is both the oldest and longest-running event of its kind.The first IAYC was held in Schmallenberg, West Germany in 1969, and was organised primarily by amateur astronomer Werner Liesmann1. The camp hosted 40 participants who were lectured in astronomy and took part in project work; reportedly, it was a great success and 90 people attended the following year2. Ten years later, in 1979, the International Workshop for Astronomy (IWA) was founded as the formal organisation behind the camp. The current statutes of IWA list two aims:• Promotion of international collaboration and agreement, particularly for astronomical youth work • To spread astronomical knowledge and to teach young people to work scientifically on their own This year (2019) marks the 50th anniversary of the IAYC, and the 55th camp since 1969 (some years had additional camps). Although it now lasts three weeks instead of one, the format of the IAYC is largely unchanged; for a detailed description of the camp see Dalgleish3. So far, IAYCs have been held in 15 countries ( Figure 1) and have hosted 3,468 participants (of whom we estimate at least 1,700 to be unique), aged 16-24, from 81 nationalities worldwide (Figure 2).

‘Astrophysics: history and theory’, an undergraduate, interdisciplinary, asynchronous astrophysics course taught in the physics program

“…A complete statistical analysis was completed to analyse the success of the program [7]. Dalgleish completed an assessment on an astronomy camp, which included 50 years of data [8]. Several papers have been published on improving online astrophysics/astronomy courses and analysing their success.…”

Evaluating participants' experience of extended interaction with cutting-edge physics research through the PRiSE “research in schools” programme

“…All of these issues raised cultivate and contribute to reproducing inequitable, and low overall, patterns of participation within physics (Archer et al, 2020). Davenport et al (2020) suggest that for STEM subjects in general an intervention approach that sustains and supports science identity is most appropriate for students in late secondary/high-school education in the context of their educational journey. However, in the case of physics specifically, Archer et al (2020) comment that existing interventions based on simply enthusing, inspiring and informing students about physics will not significantly change uptake or diversity in post-compulsory physics.…”

“…'Nuffield Research Placements' in the UK, Cilauro and Paull, 2019; 'Raising Interest in Science and Engineering' in the USA, Stanford Office of STEM Outreach, 2020), summer schools/camps (e.g. the 'International Astronomical Youth Camp' run across Europe and parts of Africa, Dalgleish and Veitch-Michaelis, 2019), or science competitions/fairs (particularly prevalent in the USA, e.g. Yasar and Baker, 2003).…”