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Videos for Astronomy Education and Outreach (page 32)
Chris Impey, Matthew Wenger, Carmen Austin, Jenny Calahan, Alexander Danehy

Summary

This paper presents an unusual project in which astronomy videos were created for education and outreach with students playing a central role, from initial conceptualisation to final distribution of the videos on the Internet. Seventy videos were produced over the past three and a half years, on subjects ranging from tours of local observatories to complex concepts like adaptive optics. Students learned skills such as time management, interdisciplinary teamwork and optimising communication of technical information to the general public. Most of the videos have a strong student voice, and students’ experience with social media helped in reaching other young audiences. This paper describes the organisation, management and workflow of the project. The time and money required to create educational astronomy videos are also discussed.