Each year, high-school
students from 28 countries participate in the International Astronomy Olympiads. Sadly, the U.S. is not represented.
One of my online astronomy students (an amazing high-schooler!) was
looking for a way to continue pursuing her passion for astronomy after the end
of our course. She came across this amazing opportunity, only to have her hopes
dashed when she learned that the U.S. doesn’t hold Astronomy Olympiads… yet!
Do you think the American Astronomical Society should be helping to inspire the next generation by supporting this opportunity? Would you be interested in being an
AO coach? Do you know of a high school that would be interested in being an AO host site?
According to the rules, the first step is to create a National Astronomy
Olympiad committee, hosted by the American Astronomical Society, the Academy of
Sciences, a teachers association, university, or ‘other competent body’.
You may be familiar
with Science Olympiads. Science teachers started the Science Olympiads 29
years ago through a grassroots campaign. Now tens of thousands of kids
participate each year (including me, back in the day, when I was falling in
love with astronomy). The Science Olympiads are a great way to bring science to life,
emphasize the problem solving aspects of science, and help kids make
connections with other kids who love science.
Kids
participate in local, regional, national, and internationals tournaments. The
events are designed to use a variety of intellectual and practical skills. Some
events require a quick recall of information. In others, kids brainstorm a
solution and build their own apparatus. Throughout, participants are building
their teamwork and science communication skills.
Within
the Science Olympiads is an Astronomy specialization. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics plays a major role in supporting this. For those who
are interested, check out sample astronomy questions from past tournaments and the Science Olympiad Astronomy Coaches manual on CD.
5 comments :
Wow! I didn't know that an Astronomy Olympiad existed. I think it's a wonderful idea and would love to see the US represented. I'm going to have to look more into the details of getting this started.
I created a petition to bring this to the attention of the AAS: http://www.change.org/petitions/american-astronomical-society-create-a-national-astronomy-olympiad-2
Please sign this, it'll mean a lot to me and other I the rested high schoolers!
Hi, This year we are trying to, our site is usaaao.org, we are competing in the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad (ioaa)
That's WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for posting about this.
Do you have someone working with you on your website? http://www.usaaao.org/ is a bit sparse in information. It'd be great to know what schools are participating and how others can get involved.
Also, what organization were you able to get to sponsor you? I'm very interested to hear who should share the praise.
Thanks!
We have administered our first round of exams and almost have a team finalized to compete in the 8th IOAA! However, we are in need of donations and help in organizing a training camp to help competitors prepare for the Olympiad, especially the observational component. If you'd like to donate, or want more info about us and how to get involved, visit our site at www.usaaao.org or contact us at usioaateam@gmail.com
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