Astronomy as a tool to broader learning

By Sarah Devine

My love of astronomy started before I can remember. I was always the kid who was going to be an astronaut. As I grew up and went through school, that passion ebbed and flowed, music came in for many years as my primary activity, but science was always right there behind it. I remember my parents suggesting I should only take one science class at a time during high school so that I could keep balance in my life. While I never thought I’d be an educator, I followed new opportunities as they arose and found my way to teaching. Through teaching science and sharing my passion for astronomy, I do get to be an astronaut and explorer, at least virtually in the planetarium and when using telescopes. 

So why do I share this story with you? Youth development is about helping youth find their sparks and passions. It's about helping them grow the skills needed in our modern, culturally connected world. I’ve seen how a passionate mentor or educator can open new ideas for youth, even when the youth “knew” it wasn't going to be for them. In my many years of teaching astronomy, I’ve talked with people of all ages who thought they weren’t smart enough to do science and understand it, but they enjoyed the stars. I figured out that I could teach scientific literacy and build a person’s confidence in their own skills, such as asking questions, making observations and building connections, in a roundabout way through astronomy. 

Astronomy is inherently interesting to a lot of people. One of my most used examples is talking about Pluto and why it is no longer a planet. Everyone has an opinion about Pluto, even if they were born after 2006 and it was never a planet in their lifetime. I use it as a way to teach how scientific understanding is constantly evolving and how collecting and using data can change how we understand our universe. So while on the surface it may seem like we’re talking about the dwarf planet everyone loves, we’re really building scientific literacy. 

Another reason I love teaching astronomy is that it is one of the oldest sciences and it can introduce us to new cultures. People from all over the globe have looked at the sky for centuries and used the Sun and stars to tell time, navigate, and pass on information from one generation to the next before the invention of GPS or the internet. The same stars we all see can be connected in different ways to draw different constellations. The names of stars themselves come from different cultures and have meaning. So again, astronomy can be used to learn about more than just scientific facts, it can be a way to start talking about the wonderful diversity in our world and different ways of knowing. 

Check out the lesson Navigating the Night Sky in the 4-H curriculum library for an introduction to using astronomy to teach science and engineering practices and learning about other cultures. 

I’ll leave you with this, when have you used engaging content as a hook that leads to broader learning and benefits?

-- Sarah Devine, Extension educator

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