Aims and Scope

Europlanet RI 2020 offers a series of Outreach Experts Workshops, best practice meetings for a broad range of outreach providers and science communicators working both professionally and voluntarily to engage the public with planetary science. The workshops aim to build networks, share resources and best practice, brainstorm in order to develop new ideas for effective communication, and to keep in touch with the latest scientific achievements through contact with the broader scientific community. The next workshop, “Touching
the Planets, Evaluating Excellence”, will be held in Athens on July 2-3, 2018. This year, the workshop will target primarily (but not exclusively) an audience of amateur astronomers and will focus on evaluation of outreach activities.

Programme

During the first half of the day, we will present a dedicated evaluation toolkit developed by Europlanet to empower outreach providers and educators in measuring and appraising the impact of their activities. On the second half of the day participants will present the outreach activities they have been engaging with, discussing empirical evidence and best practices. The day will be concluded with a stargazing experience open to participants and the public at the nearby Hill of Nymphs, opposite to Acropolis, where the National Observatory of Athens headquarters are located. On the second day, the experience of the participants will join the expertise of the Europlanet team, to perform practical exercises using the evaluation tools, to do group work on specific themes and focused discussions. A limited number of participants (30) will be accepted. Priority in selecting applicants will be widening participation. We will be able to provide financial support for travel and 2 nights accommodation to a limited number of participants, according to specific criteria and budget availability.

Touching the Planets, Evaluating Excellence – Europlanet Outreach Workshop