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Ensuring STEM Literacy: a National Conference on STEM Education and Public Outreach
ASP Conference Series, Vol. 483
James G. Manning, Joseph B. Jensen, Mary Kay Hemenway, and Michael G. Gibbs, eds.
c
2014 Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Training Young Astronomers in EPO: An Update on the AAS
Astronomy Ambassadors Program
Andrew Fraknoi,1Richard Tresch Fienberg,2Suzanne Gurton,3
Anna Hurst Schmitt,3Dennis Schatz,4and Edward E. Prather5
1Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, California 94022, USA
2American Astronomical Society, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Suite 300,
Washington, D.C. 20009, USA
3Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco,
California 94112, USA
4Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave. North, Seattle, Washington 98109,
USA
5Center for Astronomy Education, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona,
933 North Cherry Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
Abstract. The American Astronomical Society, with organizations active in EPO,
has launched professional-development workshops and a community of practice to help
improve early-career astronomers’ ability to communicate effectively. Called “Astron-
omy Ambassadors,” the program provides mentoring and training for participants, from
advanced undergraduates to beginning faculty. By learning to implement effective EPO
strategies, Ambassadors become better teachers, meeting presenters, and representa-
tives of our science to the public and government. Because young astronomers are a
more diverse group than those who now do most outreach, they help the astronomy
community present a more multicultural and gender-balanced face to the public, en-
abling underserved groups to see themselves as scientists. Ambassadors are given a
library of outreach activities and materials, including many developed by cooperating
organizations such as the ASP, plus some that have been created by Andrew Fraknoi
specifically for this program.
1. Introduction
The American Astronomical Society (AAS), in partnership with the Astronomical So-
ciety of the Pacific (ASP), members of the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE),
and other organizations active in science education and public outreach (EPO), has
launched a series of professional-development workshops and a Community of Practice
designed to help improve early-career astronomers’ ability to effectively communicate
with students and the public. Called “Astronomy Ambassadors” (Gurton et al. 2013),
the program provides mentoring and training experiences for young astronomers, from
advanced undergraduates to new faculty; it also provides access to resources and a net-
work of contacts within the astronomy EPO community.
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Fraknoi et al.
By learning how to implement effective education and outreach strategies, par-
ticipants in the Astronomy Ambassadors program will become better teachers, better
presenters at meetings, and better representatives of our science to the public and to
government. Because young astronomers are a more diverse group than those who cur-
rently do the majority of outreach, they will help the astronomical community present a
multicultural and gender-balanced face to the public, enabling members of underserved
groups to see themselves as scientists.
AAS astronomy ambassadors are provided with a large library of outreach activ-
ities and materials that are suitable for a range of venues and audiences, which will
grow with time. We call it the “MOOSE,” or Menu of Outreach Opportunities for Sci-
ence Education. Much of the MOOSE consists of resources developed by organizations
such as the ASP, the Pacific Science Center, and the CAE for other outreach programs,
though some resources have been created by lead author Andrew Fraknoi specifically
for this program.
The first Astronomy Ambassadors workshop was held at the 221st meeting of the
AAS in January 2013 and served 30 young astronomers chosen from more than 75 ap-
plicants. Feedback from workshop participants and lessons learned from the reports
they submitted after conducting their own outreach events are informing planning for
the second workshop to be held 4–5 January 2014 at the 223rd AAS meeting in Wash-
ington, D.C.
Figure 1. Dennis Schatz addresses the first class of Astronomy Ambassadors at
the inaugural workshop held at the 221st AAS meeting in Long Beach, California,
in January 2013. Photo by Rick Fienberg, c
2013 AAS.
Training Young Astronomers in EPO
417
2. Putting a Face on Science
The Astronomy Ambassadors project was the brainchild of past-AAS President De-
bra M. Elmegreen. Among other motivations, she was alarmed at the results of Re-
search!America’s 2011 “Your Congress—Your Health” poll, which revealed that more
than 80% of U.S. citizens do not know a scientist personally and consequently feel lit-
tle or no direct connection to the scientific enterprise. The AAS Council agreed with
Elmegreen that we should take action to address this problem.
Figure 2. Suzy Gurton, Andrew Fraknoi, and Anna Hurst Schmitt (left to right)
joined Dennis Schatz as trainers at the Long Beach workshop. Photo by Rick Fien-
berg, c
2013 AAS.
3. The First Class of AAS Astronomy Ambassadors
One of our goals is to put a young, enthusiastic, and diverse face on the science of as-
tronomy. Accordingly, the primary candidates for Astronomy Ambassadors training are
early-career AAS members, mainly graduate students and postdocs, but also including
some advanced undergraduates and new faculty members.
We strive to include ambassadors of both genders, from a variety of cultural back-
grounds, from institutions large and small, urban and rural, and to encourage ambas-
sadors to seek out venues with diverse audiences for their outreach activities.
Table 1 lists the racial diversity, gender diversity, and career stage of the first class
of AAS Astronomy Ambassadors.
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Fraknoi et al.
Table 1. Diversity of the First Class of AAS Astronomy Ambassadors
Race Number Percentage
Caucasian 23 77%
Asian 5 17%
Hispanic/Latino 1 3%
African American 1 3%
Female 20 67%
Male 10 33%
Graduate Student 23 77%
New Faculty/Staff5 17%
Postdoc 1 3%
Undergraduate Senior 1 3%
In the eight months immediately following the workshop, 21 of the ambassadors
logged a combined 91 EPO events, while nine ambassadors had not yet held their first
event. The four most active ambassadors have, between them, conducted 49 events,
54% of the total. Eleven more ambassadors have held at least two events, while six
have organized one event apiece.
Figure 3. A scene from the first Astronomy Ambassadors workshop, at the 221st
AAS meeting in Long Beach, California, in January 2013. Photo by Rick Fienberg,
c
2013 AAS.
Training Young Astronomers in EPO
419
4. Whom Are Ambassadors Serving?
The opportunities for outreach are many, both in and out of the classroom. Adults
and family groups flock to community centers, science museums, planetariums, nature
centers, national and regional parks, fairs and festivals, science-institution open houses,
etc., where they can be engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) activities. Students can be found not only in formal classrooms but also in
after-school programs and summer camps. The tools emphasized in the workshop are
most appropriate for the general public and middle- and high-school students.
Among the 91 outreach events logged by AAS Astronomy Ambassadors, 39%
were school visits (23) or visits to after-school programs (13). Many of the other events
were public lectures, planetarium programs, or public star parties. Audiences averaged
about 120 in number (more than 10,000 people in all) and included everyone from
preschoolers to senior citizens, with most events serving K–12 schoolchildren and their
parents and teachers (Table 4).
Table 2. Audiences Served by AAS Astronomy Ambassadors, Jan.–Aug. 2013
Audience Type Percentage of Events
Preschoolers 11%
Primary-school age 56%
Middle-school age 38%
High-school age 33%
College age/young adults 33%
Adults 47%
Seniors 27%
5. A Community of Practice
Using infrastructure already developed for the ASP’s Astronomy from the Ground Up
(AFGU) program, we have built a forum dedicated to tools for, and communication
among, AAS Astronomy Ambassadors. Participants are part of an online community
that regularly exchanges ideas, resources, and experiences, not only with each other but
also with their workshop trainers.
As the program grows—as new cohorts of ambassadors “graduate” from training
and get involved with outreach—there will be an increasing number of participants in
the online forum, more sharing of successes and challenges, and greater opportuni-
ties for group problem solving. Eventually we expect to move the forum to the AAS
website, where we will be able to take advantage of the AAS’s new communications
infrastructure.
6. Second Workshop at the 223rd AAS Meeting in January 2014
The AAS Astronomy Ambassadors workshop content balances skill building with a
deeper understanding of outreach. It offers general tips for finding existing programs
and materials for astronomy and science outreach and helps participants learn how to
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Fraknoi et al.
identify specific opportunities in their own communities. Workshop sessions also assist
young scientists in gaining a better understanding of how people learn and what makes
outreach to nonscientists effective. By building on participants’ existing communica-
tion skills and natural enthusiasm for science, workshop activities build confidence in
the participants for doing public outreach.
Our second Astronomy Ambassadors workshop was offered on 4–5 January 2014
during the weekend preceding the 223rd AAS meeting in Washington, D.C. The AAS
provided participants with modest travel stipends to help defray the cost of coming to
Washington D.C. two days early to attend the workshop. We hope to be able to offer
workshops at future AAS meetings as well.
7. Evaluation
In addition to the event logs on which astronomy ambassadors report their outreach
activities, we conducted pre- and post-workshop surveys, observations of the workshop,
lunchtime focus groups with participants, and post-workshop telephone interviews with
a subset of participants, all as part of a formative evaluation plan. These efforts are
helping to refine our planning for future workshops.
Results from the post-workshop survey are encouraging. More than 90% of re-
spondents rated the inaugural workshop as good or excellent. Most also thought that
the content of the workshop was just what they were hoping for, except that they would
have liked to have had more time devoted to learning about various questioning strate-
gies, to discussing fears and obstacles in carrying out outreach events, and to identify-
ing sources of funding and other types of support for their outreach efforts. Participants
with less prior experience in EPO found the workshop most valuable, so we will wel-
come participants with less outreach experience in the future.
8. How to Get Involved
If you are part of our target audience and would like to become an astronomy ambas-
sador, watch the announcements from the AAS for future January workshops—they
will contain instructions for applying to attend the workshop.
If you are an experienced EPO professional and are interested in contributing out-
reach materials or techniques that you have developed and that could be featured on
the Astronomy Ambassadors website and/or in our workshops, contact Suzanne Gur-
ton, ASP Education Manager.1For general inquiries about Astronomy Ambassadors,
contact Rick Fienberg2or Gina Brissenden.3
More information about the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program is available
on the AAS website.4Additional resources relevant to astronomy education and out-
reach are available at the following websites:
1sgurton@astrosociety.org
2rick.fienberg@aas.org
3gina.brissenden@aas.org
4http://aas.org/outreach/aas-astronomy- ambassadors-program
Training Young Astronomers in EPO
421
Figure 4. The AAS Astronomy Ambassadors workshop is highly interactive, with
participants trying out a variety of approaches to science education and outreach and
getting immediate feedback from their peers. Photo by Rick Fienberg, c
2013 AAS.
http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/Portal-to-the-Public/portal
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/programs.html
http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov
http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/education-public-outreach/
http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/
http://www.nsf.gov/news/classroom/education.jsp
https://wwtambassadors.org/wwt/
http://www.spsnational.org/programs/socks/
http://www.noao.edu/education/
Acknowledgments. Program evaluation was conducted by Gina Brissenden (Cen-
ter for Astronomy Education, University of Arizona). Funding for the AAS Astronomy
Ambassadors program is provided by the American Astronomical Society.
References
Gurton, S., Fienberg, R. T., Fraknoi, A., & Prather, E. E. 2013, “Introducing the AAS Astron-
omy Ambassadors Program,” in Communicating Science, J. Barnes, C. Shupla, J. G.
Manning, & M. G. Gibbs, eds., ASP Conf. Ser. 473, 351
