TECHNIQUEST TO HELP TAKE SCHOOLS ON AN INTERGALACTIC VOYAGE
By David Prudames
26/02/2004
Photo: Crab nebula - the expanding debris cloud of a star seen exploding in 1054 AD by Chinese astronomers, aka a supernova! - captured by a telescope on Maui. Courtesy of Faulkes Telescopes Project.
Techniquest, the science and discovery centre in Cardiff, has been given £81,000 to become the base for a national network of science centres and universities.
The award was made by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and will enable staff at Techniquest to co-ordinate the Faulkes Telescope Project in the UK.
Schoolchildren up and down the country will be able to operate telescopes based in Hawaii and Australia over the Internet and take pictures of the universe with research grade equipment.
"This is a really exciting UK-wide project, with international links, so we are thrilled that much of the action will take place here in Cardiff," said Dr Paul Roche, educational consultant at Techniquest and the UK’s National Schools Astronomer.
"PPARC has recognised the outstanding track record that exists at Techniquest for involving children in science and astronomy, that is why it has been singled out as the centre of this national network."
Photo: Cardiff's Techniquest is one of the UK's leading science discovery centres, boasting hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, Lab, Discovery Room, and hi-tech science theatre. Courtesy of Techniquest.
Dr. Paul Roche will be leading the project in this country and helping primary and secondary school children explore space through the £10 million Faulkes telescopes.
Funded by a donation from the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust, the telescopes are the biggest in the world available to schools and are intended to inspire children to study science, maths and technology.
Schools will be able to control the telescopes live from their classrooms and support international research projects, working alongside scientists from UK universities and NASA.
Dr Roche described the scheme as bringing "the universe in your classroom" and explained how schools would be able to make contact with experts at science centres and universities including the Science Museum, the National Space Centre in Leicester and Armagh Planetarium.
"The idea is to try and get as many schools as we can to get involved with this project," he said.
"We have research grade telescopes and what we need is someone who can translate them down to a school level. We want this regional network to help us."
Photo: two galaxies colliding deep in space. Courtesy of Faulkes Telescopes Project.
While a support network for the science centres, universities, schools and astronomical societies will be set up at Techniquest, the operation centre for the telescopes will be based at the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University.
The money has been provided by PPARC, a UK research council funded by the government, which makes two National awards each year.
This is the second that has been granted to one of Dr. Roche’s projects. In 2000, he won funding for his work whilst head of education at the National Space Centre in Leicester.
The Department for Education and Skills is also supporting the project and an official launch has been planned at the Science Museum in London on March 16 and then at the National Museum in Cardiff on March 23.
