Education

We have resources to help teachers and students - particularly at early secondary level - be inspired by the JWST for science education and other areas of the curriculum. A growing number of astronomy organisations throughout the UK are able to support schools using these resources. Please contact us to discuss the options in your area:

Tania Johnston
Royal Observatory Edinburgh Visitor Centre
Tel: 0131 668 8263
E-mail: tania.johnston@stfc.ac.uk

Resources:

Deep Space

How did the very first, most distant galaxies form? Are there Earth-like planets around nearby stars? These are two of the big questions to be tackled with the the JWST and big ground-based telescopes. The Deep Space resources support group-work by early secondary school students using real research data to develop their understanding of exoplanets and galaxies.

Ingenious

Big Telescopes for Big Questions

MIRI Image Slicing Mirror

This project, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, developed ways for telescope engineers to inspire early secondary school students with the huge engineering challenges of big telescopes.

One of the resources developed was a demonstration of the image slicing unit used in MIRI.

For images, information and animations of the JWST:

Please visit the European Space Agency and NASA websites.

CPD For Teachers

The James Webb Telescope - Space as a Context for Teaching Science

CPD Teachers Event 2011

In 2011, the first CPD for teachers based on the James Webb Telescope was held with ESERO-UK partners, The Royal Observatory Edinburgh, the National Space Centre, the Scottish Schools Education Resource Centre and the National Science Learning Centre. 30 science teachers from across the UK attended the 2 part workshop. The first part was held at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and gave teachers the opportunity to meet and hear from scientists and engineers working on the JWST and see parts of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh site.

The course includes lectures and practical workshops covering:

  • practical astronomy based experiments
  • rocketry
  • school based spectroscopy
  • the James Webb MIRI instrument in detail

The course will run again in 2012. To register for the course, please visit the Science Learning Centre website