Astronomy Education and Outreach in a Large Urban University

Citizen science and public participation in astronomy has received an impetus in the Internet age. Education and community outreach can play an important role in providing the stimulus for this participation. The International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) has focused on creating networks between astronomers and the public by exploiting a full range of new communication technologies such as blogs, podcasts and Twitter to reach a global audience. Using these tools, Canadian participation in IYA 2009 has enabled outreach to bilingual and First Nations (aboriginal) communities in Canada. Universities also promote science education to local communities as part of their educational mission and astronomy themes have been prominent during IYA 2009. This presentation will outline initiatives in astronomy education undertaken within a large urban university in Canada and discuss the role of science librarians in promoting awareness of educational resources in astronomy. A local campus-based observatory program with an interactive chat facility that provides live online viewing of telescope images of the night sky will be described, along with a discussion of its role in public outreach. As the learning commons concept is developed in the library it will create more opportunities for partnering with science faculty and the campus observatory to support educational initiatives in astronomy