A Journey Through Space & Time – Year 6 Ss Peter & Paul School KiamaOn Monday 7th June, Year 6 children from Ss Peter & Paul School Kiama were involved in an innovative and exciting educational experience. After attending school all day the children returned to the classroom at 6pm to continue learning about Astronomy and Space. The out of school activities were part of an integrated learning program called 'A Journey through Space and Time'. The unit of work incorporated all key learning areas and was developed by Associate Professor David McKinnon from Charles Sturt University.
On Monday night the children were involved in a variety of activities as they discovered the vastness of our universe. They used their classroom computer to take control of the CSU Remote telescope in Bathurst. They were about to tell the telescope where to point in the night sky above Bathurst and then view the objects they had researched (stars, planets, Messier Objects). The children navigated the telescope through their computer and once their object was located they used the telescope’s electronic camera to photographed it and downloaded the image to their computer. The children processed the images and printed them to produce a photograph of the object they viewed through the telescope. 'I couldn't believe that we were actually controlling the telescope in Bathurst and we were in Kiama' said Brendon.
The children were also involved in a webcam conference with Dr McKinnon. Using Apple's iSight camera they asked Dr McKinnon questions about space and astronomical phenomena. 'It was so good, we could see Dr McKinnon in his office and he answered all our questions' said Lauren.
Visiting Astronomers also set up their telescopes in the school playground and the children were given the opportunity to view the night sky above Kiama. They were particularly interested in viewing the moon and identifying the are where the Apollo spacecraft landed.
The evening was an outstanding educational experience for the children. 'It was the innovative integration of learning technology that created authentic learning for the year 6 students' said Mr Andrew Heffernan. 'Thanks to the Catholic Education office and the vision of our Director of Schools Mr Greg Whitby, we have the technological infrastructure to provide quality learning and teaching'. The Charles
Sturt University Remote Telescope is found at http://www.csu.edu.au/telescope/main.html
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