Online Workshop MW-Gaia: Bringing the Milky Way to schools 2021

WG5 workshop on Bringing the Milky Way to schools will take place virtually hosted by Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (Porto) and Vilnius University: 2-4 June 2021.

• Deadline for abstract submission: 14 May 2021
• Deadline for registrations: 1 June 2021

Workshop website: http://mao.tfai.vu.lt/mwschools/

Workshop Overview

MW-GAIA's main purpose is to provide a better understanding of the Galaxy, its stars and planets, to enhance the potential of the community in its scientific exploitation of the observations of more than a billion stars with the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, and to enhance the development of the next steps in astrometry and space astrometry missions.

During this 3 day workshop we will try to bring together the research, the teaching and the science communication communities. This will be done by presenting the work that has been done throughout the years on the exploration of our Milky Way, but also the attempts of turning this knowledge into useful and powerful tools for teaching, astronomy outreach and communicating science in general.

This workshop fits the Action by aiming to leave a significant legacy, creating a dynamic and vibrant network of researchers with expertise in the study of the Milky Way and teachers that aim to make their classrooms more engaging by using the Milky Way as a learning tool. The participation in this workshop aims to be inclusive, irrespective of gender or location.

Topics Covered

• The Milky Way as a Galaxy: the science and research background
• Dissemination of the GAIA science
• Bringing the research closer to the public
• Teaching the Milky Way in schools
• How to make teaching and science communication more inclusive

We encourage submissions of a talk or poster presentation on these topics. We also encourage posters from schools, astronomy clubs or astronomy enthusiasts to tell the success story of your educational activity.

Two poster prizes will be issued: * best poster * best poster from school

Online Mode of Workshop

This workshop will be run online via ZOOM.

We will define a main channel for plenary sessions and breakout channels for additional focussed discussions and meetings. Meeting passcodes will be sent to registered participants. Dedicated meeting URLs will be attached to respective talks and events. Additional Slack Channels will be set up for dedicated chats.