Electronic Version ISSN:2550-7893. *(Published)*

NATIONAL SPACE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Obasanjo Space Centre, Umaru Musa Yar’adua Express Way

P.M.B. 437 Garki, Abuja

NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SPACE RESEARCH, SPECIAL EDITION. © 2016

SPACE SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY POPULARIZATION: A CRITICALASSESSMENT OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CENTRE FOR BASIC SPACE

SCIENCE, NSUKKA, NIGERIA.

1S. Esaenwi and 2F.B. Sigalo1NASRDA-Centre for Basic Space Science,

2Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourtsudumesa@gmail.com

(Dated: June 18, 2016)

ABSTRACT: Recently Astronomy has developed beyond naked eye observations to the use ofsophisticated instruments, like large telescopes, better imaging devices, satellites and advancedspace missions. Research in the field of Astronomy requires large number of dedicated individualsto incorporate ideas and take the quest of understanding the universe to the next level. Presentlyin Nigeria, fewer students are motivated to take up astronomy as a career option. The main reasonfor this setback is lack of awareness about the benefits inherent in this field of science. We reportthe activities of our outreach team, who are selectively knowledgeable in various aspects of researchand development in the field of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science in Nigeria to reach outto all our institutions of higher learning, secondary and primary schools where science career arebuilt. In this work, we also highlight the facilities in terms of research laboratories, observatoriesand state of the art instrumentation needed to motivate young minds.

Keyword:Astronomy, Popularization, Summer School, Regional Node.

I. INTRODUCTION

In recent times, among the official missions of the world’smain astronomy research institutions are; outreach ac-tivities and space science popularization programs. Thisis true for most reputable space science organizationslike the National Aeronautic and Space Administration(NASA) in the United States of America. Precisely,their mission statement dwells on “inspiring the nextgeneration of explorers” and “engaging the public inshaping and sharing the experience of exploration anddiscovery” (NASA, 2003). Based on these, NASA has al-ways taken awareness programs very serious, as its 2004budget request for education is about 170 million dollars(NASA, 2003). Although we cannot say how much it at-ually spends on its outreach initiatives, we do know thatNASA’s European “counterpart”, the European SpaceAgency, (ESA) has an education office that is responsiblefor a number of interesting Astronomy and Space Science

projects for various societal and educational levels. In2001 the European Southern Observatory which is awell-known inter-governmental European organizationestablished in 1962 for astronomical research opened adedicated Educational Office as part of its educationand public relations department (ESO, 2003). Thisoffice operates an outreach network with 12-membercommittee of scientists and communication specialistsfrom different countries. (ESO, 2002).

In Nigeria, the main research institution in astronomyand astrophysics is the NASRDA-Centre for Basic SpaceScience (CBSS), which is one of the activity Centres ofthe National Space Research and Development Agency(NASRDA) Abuja. The National Space Research andDevelopment Agency (NASRDA) is a department un-der the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology andit is overseen by the National Space Council. CBSS ischarged with the primary responsibility of conducting

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fundamental research in Space Science (Astronomy andAtmospheric Sciences), as well as coordinating such re-search activities in Nigerian Universities and ResearchInstitutes. The Centre was established in 2001, with theprimary aim of initiating and fostering the growth of Ba-sic Space Research in Nigeria in a well-coordinated man-ner in collaboration with Network of International Part-ners, Educational Institutions, Government Research In-stitutes and the organized private sector. Presently,CBSS is building a strong human capacity that is capa-ble of handling numerous challenges of the Centre withhighly skilled researchers.

A. The mandate of the Centre includes.

Explicitly, the Centre for Basic Space Science has thefollowing mandates:

1. conducting research to expand the frontiers ofknowledge in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

2. development of skills and knowledge of researchers.

3. enhancement of international collaboration withother organizations with similar interests, in welldefined projects, in such a way that Nigerian sci-entists and engineers must ab-initio be involved inthe development process.

4. Promotion of the introduction of astronomy intothe curricular at all levels of our educational sys-tems.

5. design, fabrication and patent of space science andtechnology instruments.

6. promotion of outreach and awareness programs ca-pable of exciting young minds and disseminating tothe general public the tremendous benefits deriv-able from space science & technology.

7. encouragement of relevant activities in other to pro-vide the much needed physics education requiredfor a thorough understanding of studies and prob-lems in other areas of space science applications.

8. serve the distinct advisory and policy making rolesto government and non-governmental agencies.

Based on mandates 4 and 6 above, the Centre for BasicSpace Science has been actively involved in Space Sci-ence popularization and outreach programs in primary,secondary and tertiary institutions within and outsideNigeria. These are achieved through organizing Astron-omy Summer School for west African students and teach-ers as well as organizing regular space week for primaryand secondary school students. CBSS also receive stu-dents on excursion and introducing such students to ba-sic space science. Figure 5 shows (a) class of primary

and secondary school students with their teachers dur-ing the 2015 Space week celebration in Anambra state,Nigeria. (b) Primary school pupil on excursion to CBSSmaking their first observation using the optical telescopeand University students on excursion to the CBSS ob-servatory in 2014. (c) Students observing a practicaldemonstration of a locally fabricated water rocket andexhibition of an Unmanned aerial vehicle in 2013 out-reach program.

II. ASTRONOMY POPULARIZATION IN WESTAFRICA

NASRDA-Centre for Bascic Space Science is actively col-laboating with other observatories and astonomy agen-cies in various space development projects and Astron-omy popularization in Nigeria and other west Africancountries

A. Nigeria Joins Global Astronomy Network

According to the Nigerian Guardian Newspaper of Sun-day January 10, 2016, the International AstronomicalUnion (IAU) acknowledged that the National Space Re-search and Development Agency (NASRDA) now acts onits behalf in West Africa which effectively incorporatesNigeria into the vast global network. A statement re-leased during the 29th triennial General Assembly of IAUin the U.S. city of Honolulu, Hawaii, stated that the worldgoverning body for Astronomy had designated the Centrefor Basic Space Science (CBSS), Nsukka, as its RegionalOffice for Astronomy Development (ROAD). Thus, Nige-ria becomes one of the five new coordinating regional of-fices, which the South African-based Office of Astronomyfor Development (OAD) has established, with Armenia,Colombia, Jordan and Portugal hosting the other fourROAD. In an interview with the Guardian Newspaper,Prof. S.O.Mohammed, the Director General of NASRDAnoted thus; “it’s something we have fought long and hardfor.... The establishment of the OAD is part of the IAU’sStrategic Plan, whose objectives are to disseminate astro-nomical knowledge as a means of facilitating education,capacity building, and generally promoting sustainabledevelopment in countries like Nigeria”.

B. The West African Regional Office of Astronomyfor Development Officially inaugurated in Enugu,

Nigeria.

This event marked the commencement of the activitiesfor the third regional office on the African continent andone of the nine regional offices globally. The event wasattended by the Director of the IAU Office of Astronomyfor Development (OAD) Dr. Kevin Govender, countrycoordinators from Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso,

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Ghana, Nigeria as well as representatives from the hostinstitution as shown in Fig 1.

Fig.1. Director of CBSS, Prof. F.E. Opara,(centre),The ROAD coordinator, Dr. B.I.Okere (1st from left)Director of OAD, Dr. Kevin Govender, (2nd from left)

and other African country coordinators.

The inauguration coincided with the First Nigerian As-tronomy and Space Science Forum aimed at sourcingfund from Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s)and interested partners for astronomy development andpopularization in Nigeria and West Africa. After the offi-cial inauguration ceremony, a discussion session was heldwith the title: ’Basic Space Science and Astronomy inNigeria’. Prior to the inauguration, a day-long meetingof the country coordinators was held at Nsukka, Nigeria.At the meeting, the Regional Coordinator for the WestAfrican Office, said “We are pleased to have reached thisimportant milestone towards the development of our re-gion. Our office, together with our host institution, isready to serve the region with all the skills and facilitieswe have available”. The West African Regional Office ofAstronomy for Development (WA-ROAD) is hosted bythe Center for Basic Space Sciences (CBSS), NationalSpace Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) inNsukka, Nigeria. The WA-ROAD is one of the nine otherregional offices around the world, with others located in:Armenia, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Portugal,Thailand and Zambia. Furthermore, the inaugurationwas graced by distinguished Nigerians among whom areSenator Chukwuka Utazi, and Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ug-wuanyi, Governor of Enugu State, and Prof. S.O. Mo-hammed, Director General of NASRDA. In a remark byKevin Govender, director of the OAD; “The African con-tinent possesses tremendous potential and a great desirefor knowledge. We must utilize this knowledge to drivedevelopment. We are grateful to Nigeria, a leader on thecontinent, for assuming this important role of driving de-velopment through Astronomy in West Africa.”

III. CAPACITY BUILDING

A. Astronomy Summer School for west AfricansUsing Inquiry Based Method of Teaching

In October 2013, over 75 undergraduate mostly sciencestudents and teachers from Nigeria and Ghana attendedthe week long West African International Summer Schoolfor Young Astronomers (WAISSYA), at Abuja, Nigeria.The school was organized through a collaboration of as-tronomers from the: Canadian Institute for TheoreticalAstrophysics, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and As-trophysics, University of Toronto, Centre for Basic SpaceScience Nsukka, Nigeria, National Astronomical Obser-vatory of Japan, IAU office of Astronomy for Develop-ment, National Space Research and Development Agency(NASRDA), as well as Institute for Scientist & EngineerEducators at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

WAISSYA Students using Solarscope to observe the

Sun, facilitated by Kelly Lepo

Fig.2. Credit: IAU C46 2014

It should be noted that West Africa has huge potentialto develop a strong astronomy community, thanks to itslarge number of talented students who are interested inscience. However, lack of interest from funding bodiesand non existence of facilities have greatly impeded itsprogress. Nigeria is especially interested in building upa critical mass of West African astronomers and estab-lishing collaborations with universities/astronomy insti-tutes within and outside the region; this brought aboutthe idea of WAISSYA through conversations at the IAUGeneral Assembly in Beijing in 2012. The main aims ofthe Summer School were: (1) to introduce West Africanstudents to astronomy, (2) to exchange ideas about teach-ing and learning in West Africa and North America, withthe goal of strengthening teaching in both places; and (3)to build foundation for a sustained astronomy partner-ship between West Africa and Canada. The teachingactivities that were designed included: (1) community

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building group discussions, on topics like why one mightstudy astronomy; (2) lectures and problem sets, using in-teractive techniques like multiple choice questions wherestudents vote, discuss together, then vote again (oftencalled “think pair share questions”), on the topics ofstars, the solar system, extrasolar planets, galaxies, cos-mology, and instrumentation; (3) solar observing withSolarscopes and hands on lab activities about convec-tion, magnetic fields, and radiative diffusion; (4) lectureson cultural astronomy, astronomy in Africa and the Of-fice of Astronomy for Development, and how to apply tograduate schools; and (5) the focal point, a two day in-quiry based laboratory on the Cosmic Distance Ladderteam designed by the Canadian partners.

Fig.3. Lecturers collaborations and inquiry-basedassessment before the summer school

On the Cosmic Distance Ladder laboratory, two of ourgoals were for students to understand how the meth-ods of parallax and inverse square law for light work formeasuring astronomical distances. To improve partici-pant’s ability to make scientific arguments, by arguingfor the validity of distance measurements, we developedrubrics to measure student learning in both areas. Thelab began with students asking questions about imagesof astronomical objects (e.g., the Sun, the Small Mag-ellanic Cloud or dwarf galaxy); then they investigatedtheir questions in small groups. The resource persons fa-cilitated by listening, occasionally chatting with groupsabout their ideas and progress, and introducing new toolsfor them to consider. Students could explore their ques-tions in many possible ways, and share their learningorally, by writing and by drawing pictures. Through theactivity, students progressed from, “What are sunspots?”and “We know the distance to the Sun because we weretaught it” to discovering the method of parallax them-selves mental steps that were significant and excitingfor them to take, and also for instructors to be partof. In later discussions, students enthusiastically debatedthe nature and applicability of parallax and the inversesquare law for light. We evaluated the effectiveness of theschool in a variety of ways. Before, directly after, and sixmonths after the school, the participants were given as-tronomy concept inventory questions and surveys abouttheir self confidence as scientists. (A concept-inventory

is a set of questions validated by education researcherstesting many students, often including common miscon-ceptions as “distractor” answers).

The self confidence survey was adapted from earlier psy-chological research by Chemers et al. 2001, which as-sessed students’ levels of self efficacy for doing science,self identity as a scientist, and commitment to a sciencecareer. The fraction of concept-inventory questions ourstudents answered correctly rose by 50% from before theschool to directly after the school, with largest gains fortopics that we taught most interactively. We also foundthat quantitative and qualitative assessment of our stu-dents’ learning pattern is crucial for offering higher mea-sures of effectiveness of our teaching, and thus point-ing to concrete ways through which we can improve forthe future (Strubbe, 2014). According to Linda Strubbe,in 2013 and 2015, undergraduate students from Nigeriaand surrounding countries experienced unique trainingopportunities at the West Africa International SummerSchool for Young Astronomers in Abuja, and Nsukka re-spectively. The 2015 summer school was organized bythe National Space Research and Development Agency’sCenter for Basic Space Science, in conjunction with part-ners that included the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy &Astrophysics as well as the Canadian Institute for Theo-retical Astrophysics (CITA).

Fig.4. Astronomy Summer School for West Africainstructors: (l - r.) graduate students Kelly Lepo, Jielai

Zhang, Heidi White; CITA postdoctoral fellow LindaStrubbe. (Credit: Linda Strubbe)

The school provided science and engineering studentsin West Africa with basic instructions in astronomywhich they did not have access to. It was designed toenhance science instruction at the undergraduate level;it also encourages and supports students in continuingto study astronomy at the graduate level. In addition,another goal of the school was to better equip primaryand secondary school science teachers for effective and

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efficient teaching of astronomy. Team of instructors thatincluded, postdoctoral fellows and graduate studentsfrom the University of Toronto, the University ofNigeria and other institutions taught students throughlectures, group discussions, solar observing sessions andhands-on activities. Instructors led participants throughinquiry-based activities in which students were taught toapproach a problem like scientists, by asking questions,and exploring those questions and possible answerswith peers. Proof of the success of 2013 summer schoolcame only weeks afterwards as students shared theirexperience with members of their communities duringthe 2013 November 3rd partial solar eclipse phenomenonthat was visible in most part of Nigeria.

Fig.5. Teachers, Secondary school students and primaryschool pupils listening to Awareness lecture at the

Space week celebration in Anambra, 2015

Fig.6. showing Primary school pupils and Universitystudents visit to CBSS observatory on excursion, 2014

IV. CONCLUSION.

We have successfully reported the popularization activ-ities of our NASRDA-Centre for Basic Space Science,

Nsukka outreach team. The team consist of scientist andEducators who are selectively knowledgeable in variousaspects of research and development in the field of As-tronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science. Our target isto reach out to all our institutions of higher learning, sec-ondary and primary schools where science career are yetto be built. Our outreach program had been extended toother west African countries and we hope to reach out toboth English and French speaking African countries in

Fig.7. showing Launching of a locally made waterrocket during an outreach program and exhibition of

the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV to secondary schoolstudents, 2013

the near future. We have also highlighted the mandateof the Centre for Basic Space Science and hereby solicitfor outreach facilities needed to motivate young minds.

REFERENCES

Linda Strubbe, 2014, commission 46 astronomy educationand development education et dveloppement de l’astronomienewsletter, page 80 NASA’s strategic plan for the year 2003at http:www.nasa.gov/pdf/1968main/strategi.pdfNASA’s 1973, short report on itsbudget for education programs athttp:www.nasa.gov/pdf/1973main/edprograms1.pdfESO Educational office can exhibit a rich web-site at http:www.eso.org/outreach/eduoff; athttp:www.eso.org/outreach/ a variety of ESO outreachactivities and materials are shown.ESO http:www.eso.org/outreach/epr/net-contact.html (up-date: December 2002).Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academicself-efficacy and first year college student performance andadjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 55-64