Public Outreach

Astronomy enjoys widespread public support, partly as a result of the effort that we invest in maintaining this important link. There are several main threads of effort.

45pt $\bullet$ Percy has links with other Institutions, such as the Ontario Science Centre, the Astronomy component of the Ontario School Science Curriculum, and he has funded research at OISE/UT.

45pt $\bullet$ Most DA members routinely write articles and give public talks, interviews, and telescope tours.

45pt $\bullet$ The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) runs a popular tour and education program.

45pt $\bullet$ A similar bi-weekly tour and education program on the St. George campus has become very successful, making use of the Undergraduate Observatory at the McLennan Laboratories.

45pt $\bullet$ The DA Web page, kept consistent with Faculty standards, seeks to be both lively and informative.

The plan for the immediate future of DDO includes a much-increased program of public outreach which will more than double the present number of visitors to about 10,000 a year, up from about 3,000 a few years ago. Parallel growth is anticipated at St. George.

An Educational Technologist is required for our undergraduate teaching program (see § 4.2). The full public outreach effort envisioned will make use of the services of this Educational Technologist to adapt the new undergraduate program materials to suitable levels of interest for everyone from pre-schoolers to sophisticated seniors. A related springboard to an enhanced presence is to update our display in the lobby of McLennan Labs. This could take the form of a large video presentation, something which we successfully implemented for outreach at a large convention. Now this could be made into an interactive display of current and topical A&A information from home and abroad, and this product could then be exported to all of our locations. We see the new hire as essential to helping us use new technologies in all our educational activities more effectively.