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Frequently Asked Questions |
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You're Advertising a Workshop in Tucson, but I’m in Vermont – Should I Apply? Can MORE THAN ONE Person from an Informal Science Education Institution Apply? Is Astronomy from the Ground Up a Curriculum? How Can I Utilize My Training? How Do You Select Applicants and How Many are Selected for Each Workshop? I work at a school planetarium that is not open to the public. Do I qualify? When Do I Need to Apply By and When Will I be Notified? Why is Priority Given to Small- to Medium-Sized Institutions? What is the Post-Workshop Follow Up Training and the Online AFGU Community? Why Do I Need to Train/Mentor an Additional Staff Member or a Volunteer? Why Must I Submit Regular Activity Reports? What Does It Mean to Participate in Evaluation? Why Do You Want Photos and Interest Stories?
What Types of Workshops Are You Offering and How Can I Apply? Applications
are now being accepted for three-day onsite workshops and You're Advertising a Workshop in Tucson, but I’m in Vermont – Should I Apply? YES! But please note, because we have limited funds and we want participation in our training workshops to come at practically no cost to selected educators, we have to be careful about how we spend our resources. Therefore, for each onsite workshop we will give some preference to institutions located in the region the workshop is being held. So, if you apply now but do not get selected for the currently posted onsite workshop(s), we will keep your application (and keep you informed!) for future workshops. You should also consider applying for one of our online workshops, as we won’t be imposing any geographical limitations for US participants for those. Astronomy from the Ground Up workshop participants will:
Astronomy from the Ground Up workshops are geared to teach:
Can MORE THAN ONE Person from an Informal Science Education Institution Apply? The answer to this question is "yes," but with some caveats. We are allowing additional educators from the same institution to apply to our workshops because we want to foster a team approach to the program. However, we cannot guarantee that all educators who apply from the same institution will get selected for a workshop, in part, because we are also trying to get as much broad-base participation as we can among different institutions. Please note that all applicants need to fill out a separate application. Is Astronomy from the Ground Up a Curriculum? No. It is up to workshop participants to decide how to interact with their audiences and deliver AFGU's content to their visitors. We want all participants to feel free to experiment with their new skills and knowledge, and try different ways of incorporating astronomy into what they already do. How Can I Utilize My Training? Here are some examples of programming you can incorporate at your institution after your Astronomy from the Ground Up training:
Those applicants selected to participate in Astronomy from the Ground Up (AFGU) workshops can expect that their workshop materials, airfare, hotel and most meal expenses will be covered by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Meals covered include breakfast, lunch and one dinner; but otherwise, participants are responsible for covering all other meals on their own. After attending the AFGU workshop, AFGU-related astronomy programming costs at participants' institutions, if any, are the institutions' responsibility. Such costs may include activity materials (e.g., playdough, photocopied handouts, etc.) and costs associated with the promotion of new programs, if any. Please note, however, that the free toolkit that each participant will receive will already contain many hard-to-find activity materials (e.g., hands-on manipulatives, etc.), and in addition, it will provide leads on where to find other needed materials at reduced rates. How Do You Select Applicants and How Many are Selected for Each Workshop? All informal science educators that submit a completed application will be considered. Between 20 and 25 applicants will be selected for each onsite and online workshop. Some amount of preference will be given to:
We are a non-profit organization but do not have a place for the public to visit because we conduct programs at schools, fairs, libraries, parks, etc. Do we qualify? Yes, albeit with somewhat less weight. Our grant for this project is from the Informal Science Education division within the National Science Foundation (NSF), so the organizations we serve must provide free choice learning opportunities for the public. We therefore told NSF that Astronomy from the Ground Up would target educators from informal science institutions that are visited by the public; specifically science/nature centers, science/tech museums, and natural history museums. Consequently, such institutions will receive preference when we are selecting workshop participants. Nevertheless, we encourage you to apply. I work at a school planetarium that is not open to the public. Do I qualify? Unfortunately at this time educators from your school's planetarium do not qualify for the Astronomy from the Ground Up program. If your planetarium is open to the public, however, the Astronomy from the Ground Up workshop selection committee is happy to consider your application at this time, however, it will carry less weight than those from educators at science/nature centers, science/tech museums, and natural history museums (please read the answer to the previous question). When Do I Need to Apply By and When Will I be Notified? Applications are being accepted now for all workshops. Cutoff dates for applying will be announced approximately 2 months before each workshop. All applicants will be notified about the status of their application soon after the cutoff date. Those not selected for the workshop of their choice will automatically be considered for all future workshops. Why is Priority Given to Small- to Medium-Sized Institutions? We know that, collectively, small- and medium-sized informal science education institutions reach millions of Americans every year. But individually, most struggle with limited resources, small staffs, and very modest budgets. That is why Astronomy from the Ground Up is geared toward the smaller institutions and comes at little or no expense to qualifying educators and their home institutions willing to make at least a one-year commitment to the program. What is the Post-Workshop Follow Up Training and the Online AFGU Community? The workshop is only the beginning of the Astronomy from the Ground Up experience. We want you to be supported and to be able to strengthen your astronomy knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis, enabling you and your institutions to continue to deliver more effective astronomy programming. Therefore, after participating in an AFGU workshop, you will have access to the full AFGU online community and be encouraged to continue your astronomy learning (this is why access to a "high-speed" Internet connection is essential). The AFGU online community is your support network while you plan and implement new or improved astronomy programming at your institution. Discussion forums will enable you to stay in touch with AFGU colleagues all over the US to share ideas, keep up with current astronomy news, learn new activities, share programming stories, and express concerns. The site also has links to partner sites and numerous astronomy resources. "Continuing Explorations" provide guidance on how to showcase upcoming astronomy related events and translate new astronomical discoveries to the public using the toolkit activities. Guest speakers are occasionally invited to share their knowledge of hot astronomy topics and to share valuable astronomy education tips. The AFGU team you met during your workshop will be there too to "walk the halls" and connect members, respond to contributions and questions, and to stimulate the group with fresh ideas for translating current astronomical discoveries into engaging public experiences. In addition, other educators you enlist to help you engage your visitors with astronomy are invited to join the online community as well. Why Do I Need to Train/Mentor an Additional Staff Member or a Volunteer? Any informal educator will agree that creating and delivering new or improved programming is no easy feat. Equally important is the fact that any institution that is going to invest staff time to add to or update their programming is not looking for a one-shot deal. Therefore, we believe one way to provide additional support for our participants, while at the same time establish some degree of institutional knowledge of AFGU's resources, is to have AFGU trained educators share their new skills and knowledge with colleagues at their institution. Of course every institution's situation is different, so such mentoring will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Nonetheless, participants will be expected to train and mentor (on average) at least one additional staff member (aka "apprentice") back at their site using the astronomy toolkit and online network resources. Why Must I Submit Regular Activity Reports? As with any funded program, information needs to be gathered that demonstrates funds are being spent as intended, and that desired results are being achieved. Participants' activity reports will be submitted online. More information on the content and frequency of activity reports will be provided during the AFGU workshop. Why Does It Mean to Participate in Evaluation? The Astronomy from the Ground Up team needs to gather feedback from participants for a variety of reasons. For example, knowing more about our participants and their experience with AFGU allows us to better plan to serve their interests and needs in the future. It also helps us improve the program for new users. And as with any funded program, we need to be able to document activities for not only our current supporters, but also for any possible future funders. Therefore, from time-to-time we will ask all participants to complete brief evaluations of the AFGU program. Why Do You Want Photos and Interest Stories? The Astronomy from the Ground Up team feels that one of the best ways to explain our goals and our progress is by telling the AFGU "story" through the photographs, writings, artwork, and testimonials of the many participants in the program, including those of the visitors taking part in your various education programs. We will use these items to share our activities with our funders and in our promotional materials (e.g., brochures, newsletters, media articles, annual reports, web site, etc.). If you did not find the answers you were looking for here, please don't hesitate to contact the Astronomy from the Ground Up team at afgu {at} astrosociety.org so that we can be sure we have addressed all your questions.
Is
AFGU Right for Me and My Institution?
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If
you don't see what you are looking for here, please don't hesitate
to contact the Astronomy from the Ground Up team at afgu {at} astrosociety.org
so that we can be sure we have answered all your questions.
*Astronomy
from the Ground Up is based upon work supported by the Informal
Education Division of the