The second day of Kosmiting Summit 4 took place within the Sułkowice-Bolęcina Local-Government School Complex – an institution whose School Astronomical Observatory has been the event’s main initiator and organizer for the last four years.
Lecture session
This section of the conference offered its participants the ability to explore the School Astronomical Observatory (SOA – Szkolne Obserwatorium Astronomiczne) and to acquaint themselves with the effectiveness as well as reach of research and popularization–focused initiatives from the domain of physics and astronomy.
The 14 lectures were devoted to presenting scholastic, extrascholastic, and academic projects from various regions of Poland. These were variously dedicated to space exploration, Earthbound astronomical objects, the construction of observational instruments, as well as to the proven and currently effective methods of astronomy education.
The Nicolaus Copernicus Academy put forward and financed the participation of Mr. Tomasz Skowron – a now decadeslong physics and astronomy teacher at the Szczecin General Education Lyceum № 13, organizer of the West Pomeranian astronomical knowledge competition for primary schools, and educator of many laureates of international and Polish national astronomical Olympiads, some of whom have already become world-renowned scientists.
The lectures were given by:
- Tomasz Skowron – “Astronomy at My School”
- Sławomir Klimek – “Cosmic STEM in the Classroom, Cheaply”
- Łukasz Wyrzykowski – “The Role of Amateur Telescopes in Astronomical Research – From the Gaia Mission the EASST Foundation”
- Janusz Nicewicz – “Artemis – Conquering the Moon”
- Alex Linde – “Popularization of Astrophotography”
- Ewa Konarzewska – “Bringing Astronomy to the People: Education and Passion at the Cultural Centre”
- Zbigniew Grabowski – “The EASST Project – CSOA (Digital School/Social Astronomical Observatories)
- Maria Wicher – “Seeking and Observing of Planetoids as part of Citizen Science Projects”
- Waldemar Ogłoza – “The Antikythera Mechanism – The First Astrocomputer”
- Justyna Put – “Our Entire Cosmos in the SOA in Gawłów”
- Anna Olchowy – “ITER – How to Visit the Fusion Reactor in France”
- Krzysztof Horodecki – “At What Time Does the ISS Launch?”
- Paweł Walczak – On the Role of Luck in Astronomy Education and How Ignorance is Bliss”
- Sebastian Soberski – “Little Urania – A Popular-Science TV Programme for Children”
Poster competition
The organizers of this year’s conference demonstrated their innovative approach to supporting the efforts of astronomy lovers and instructors who continually inspire new adepts of astronomical observation. In addition to the Mini–Science Picknick and the passionate lectures, the event also hosted the presentations of projects originating from various astronomical centres. The poster-focused form of the competition allowed for concise visualizations of efforts in the realms of exploration and education. Voting via secret ballots, the audience selected 5 promising ideas ready for implementation in other centres across Poland.
Equally importantly, however, the centres received awards in the form of astronomical observation equipment, thanks to the conference’s sponsors. The Nicolaus Copernicus Academy funded a telescope for the winner as well as binoculars for the contestants in the second and third place. However, as the third place was reached jointly by three contenders, whereas there was only one reserved third-place reward, the EASST Foundation declared its intention to buy two additional binoculars to fairly reward the contestants.
Presenting the posters were:
- Bartłomiej Dębski – „Project Perihelion”
- Jacek Drążkowski – “Meeting Meteorites at a Hotel”
- Robert Góra – „AstroPeakK”
- Andrzej Jaśkowiec – “An Astronomy Contest for Primary-School Students”
- Liliana Krzanak – „Alone in the Universe?”
- Agnieszka Mirocha – „Sport Develops the Mind – Astronomy and Mountain Tourism in Youth Education”
- Anna Skowrońska-Walczak – “Koluszki Space Station – To the People Through the Stars and to the Stars Thanks to the People”
- Małgorzata Szymaszek – “AstroFarmer – Cosmic Technologies in the Hands of Young Explorers”
- Ewa Wykręt – “Solar Eclipses”
- Sławomir Żebracki – “Cosmic Time Machine”
- Katarzyna Żurek – “Cosmic Meetings in the Tatry Region”
Summary
The poster contest constitutes a concrete activity for the promotion of astronomy education and a real form of support for the development of enthusiasm for astronomical observation. The worth of spreading the project across the whole of Poland is demonstrated by the way in which it can effectively support the passion of enthusiasts in centres in the city and at school, which will bear fruit in the form of a growing number of university students in the fields of astronomy and applied physics.
We congratulate the participants on the wonderful ideas and wish the winners unforgettable observational experiences!
