Contribute to the OAO Activity Toolkit

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Astronomical Union Offices issued a call to action to the astronomical and broader scientific communities to help alleviate the stresses of prolonged confinement. And the astronomy outreach community answered the call in droves! Practitioners from around the world shared great digital astronomy resources and fun activities that helped parents and educators keep their children occupied and entertained.

Building on this legacy, The Office for Astronomy Outreach Activity Toolkit aims to collect and share activities from and for the astronomy outreach community. Activities are presented in a simple and direct way, can be adapted to local needs, and should be used freely. A living document, the Toolkit will be updated and shared on an ongoing basis. We will publish this Toolkit under a CC-BY 4.0 license. 

We invite you to use and contribute to the Toolkit!

The only rule we ask you to follow: we welcome contributions of activities that you did not create yourself, but we kindly ask you to make sure the activity is published under a Creative Commons License that allows users to share and adapt the material (if the activity was previously published), and that correct attribution is provided.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Kelly Blumenthal, Office for Astronomy Outreach (blumenthal.kelly@oao.iau.org).

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Name & Institution affiliation *
Please let us know your given name and surname name, followed by the name of your organisation.
Contact Email
 *
IAU Global Outreach Event
Is your programme suitable to be implemented during one of the IAU Global Outreach Events? If so, please indicate which ones.
Activity Name *
Author
If you know, please let us know who developed the activity. If you do not know, please write "Unknown author".
Source & link
Please provide us with the context in which the activity was developed (at which institution, for which project, etc.) and a link for more information and/or a full description.
Concept
In a few words, please describe the basic concept of the activity. For example: "The activity is a short and informal talk in which one expert briefly presents a current research, innovation, policy or design topic followed by informal discussions with a small audience, as to facilitate a high degree of interaction."
Overview
Please let us know the number of participants, the expected duration, and how hard it is to implement the activity. For example:
Participants: 30+ 
Duration: 180 mins 
Difficulty: Medium
Break Down *
Please describe how the activity should/could take place. For example:
1. Select a topic that resonates with your local environment.
2. Select an expert in the field. 
3. With your expert, select the tangible topics that could be discussed. 
4. Once onsite, on the day of the event, one expert presents their research in 10 minutes and invites the audience to discuss. Your moderator should facilitate the discussion if need be by pointing out possible questions, directing the discussion towards the point of view of an ordinary person, or towards how their research is affecting society etc. 
5. Discussion for 20-30 minutes. 
Materials & personnel *
Please let us know how what materials and staff would you need to implement the activity. For example:
1 expert 
1 moderator
Chairs in circle 
Computer, laser pointer, and screen 
Loudspeaker system if the venue requires it
Felt pens/ flipcharts
Outcomes
What are the expected outcomes? For example: 
The activity aims to enable dialogue between the general public and experts representing different areas of research and other science-bound aspects of social interactions. It should help establish new connections contributing to building trust and openness to dialogue.
Tips and Comments
Let other outreach professionals know of some tips for better implementing the activity or to any other comments you would like to share. For example:
Keep a very informal atmosphere. Participants should be familiar with the topic to be discussed.
Can we share your name and contact? *
Can the OAO share your name and email within the description of the activity?
Can the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach contact you with information on other programmes and events?
 *
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