ASI Space Science Data Center participation to high-school outreach program

TL;DR

The ASI Space Science Data Center's outreach program effectively engages high school students with space science through theoretical and practical activities, fostering interest and understanding in space-related topics.

Contribution

This paper presents the design, implementation, and positive impact assessment of a novel space science outreach program involving hands-on data analysis activities for high school students.

Findings

Students appreciated the outreach activities and showed increased engagement.

The program's expansion is supported by positive feedback and demonstrated educational value.

Plans include adding new topics and more complex pedagogical approaches.

Abstract

Since 2017 the Italian Space Agency (ASI) participates to so-called "Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro" (i.e., "school-work synergy") outreach projects promoted by the Italian government, and the ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC) actively contributes to them, with the primary aim of bringing students closer to space-related activities before choosing their university studies. The SSDC outreach program is split into two parts: one theoretical, in which relevant topic are presented and explained, and one practical, consisting of hands-on activities aimed to replicate scientific analysis of real space data. The impact of the program on students' attitude is then evaluated by means of questionnaires specifically designed to gather information on the students' educational background, the level of engagement triggered by the proposed activities, their relevance to school-based activities, and the perceived ease of understanding of the covered topics. As reported in this paper, the analysis of the answers clearly shows that students greatly appreciated this outreach project, supporting its possible expansion and development, even articulated in a more complex pedagogical plan, as already done for one school in a pilot case. Therefore, we plan to expand these activities in the next future both by including new topics (e.g., cosmology, stellar physics), and by proposing new more articulated teaching pathways inclusive of on-site activities in the classroom.