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Learning by Doing: Science Education at the Hamburg Observatory

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Abstract

In my contribution I would like to offer three different examples: the activities of the association “Förderverein Hamburger Sternwarte”, science education in the “astronomy workshop”, and the teaching of the history of science and technology for university students.

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Notes

  1. An earlier observatory existed in 1802 and 1825. For the history of Hamburg Observatory see Schramm (2010).

  2. The members are engaged citizens, historians and historians of science or art, professional and amateur astronomers. According to the articles of the association the “Förderverein” http://www.fhsev.de (Jan. 20, 2015) serves for public outreach and restoration activities. The “Förderverein” like a public observatory has access to some telescopes which are no longer used for teaching, research or testing instruments.

  3. These activities have the aim to provide some money for conservation of the ensemble, but mostly serve to keep the observatory restoration issue in the public eye while we try to find additional public and private sources of finance.

  4. The star gazing activities support each event for example the annual all evening at the museums, the Venus transit (http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/fhs/venus04.htm) or the solar eclipse (1999 and 2015) and are organized by Dr. Matthias Hünsch or Rüdiger Heins, FHS.

  5. Dürer, Albrecht: Vnderweysung der messung/mit dem zirckel vn richtscheyt/in Linien ebnen unnd gantzen corporen. Nuremberg 1525. Reprint: Nördlingen: Verlag Dr. Alfons Uhl 1983. Cf. Wolfschmidt 1990, p. 66. See also: http://www.jgiesen.de/HorVerSundial/index.html (November 10, 2012).

  6. The sponsor was the Hamburger Sparkasse in Bergedorf. For more information about the time ball see (Machoczek and Detlev 2011).

  7. Astronomy Workshop of Hamburg Observatory: http://www.schul-astronomie.de/ (10 November 2012)—Uwe Wolter.

  8. Here are some links to astronomy Java applets for the virtual laboratory: http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/, http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/applets (20 October 2012).

  9. SOHO: http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/classroom/for_students.html (20 October 2012).

  10. Formation of spiral arms of galaxies: http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/~koppen/MWGspirals/ (20 October 2012).

  11. Eclipsing Binaries: http://astro.unl.edu/naap/ebs/animations/ebs.html (20 October 2012).

  12. Cf. http://astro.unl.edu/naap/ebs/animations/ebs.html or http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/applets/Sim/ebinary/Help.html (20 October 2012).

  13. Wolfschmidt, The impact of spectralanalysis (2009a).

  14. Data taken by Joachim Köppen Kiel, Strasbourg, Illkirch, Oct. 97: http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/~koppen/apindex.html#ASTRO (20 October 2012).

  15. Orbiting binary stars: http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/software/binary/binary.htm (20 October 2012).

  16. Extrasolar planets: http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Photometry.htm (20 October 2012).

  17. Kepler orbits: http://www.saratogaskies.com/image.pl?i=110 (20 October 2012).

  18. Collisions of galaxies: http://burro.cwru.edu/JavaLab/GalCrashWeb/labIntro.html (20 October 2012), you can choose the mass, pericenter distance, galaxy orientation angles and number of stars.

  19. Hünsch: Telescopes of Hamburg Observatory (2009).

  20. Berliner Mondatlas: http://www.planetarium-berlin.de/Mondatlas/Nav/index.html (November 10, 2012); Height of lunar mountains: http://stupendous.rit.edu/classes/phys236/moon_mount/moon_mount.html (20 October 2012).

  21. Radio telescope: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/Ins/KRT3/index.html (10 November 2012).

  22. Dufner (2002).

  23. Published catalogues, ed. by Wolfschmidt: Hertz 2007, Wolfschmidt: Navigation, (2009b). http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/events/ausstell.php (01 January 2015). World View, Cosmology: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/events/ausstell.php, Wolfschmidt: Models, 2014a.

  24. Wolfschmidt: Farben (2011).

  25. Wolfschmidt: Solar Eclipse Expeditions of Hamburg Observatory 2014b.

  26. Clocks: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/Ins/Bib/Uhren/index.html.

  27. Web page of the collections of Hamburg Observatory, compiled by G. Wolfschmidt: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/events/Sammlungen_HS.htm (10 November 2012).

  28. Digitization project of photographic plates of Hamburg Observatory: http://plate-archive.hs.uni-hamburg.de/index.php/en/ (November 10, 2012).

  29. Wolfschmidt: Astronomical Observatories (2009c).

  30. Hamburg‘s Gate to the Stars: http://www.sternwarte-hh.de/ (Besucherzentrum).

  31. Program for 2015: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/fhs/fhs-v15.php (Förderverein).

  32. Program for summer term 2015: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/GNT/kolloq/ring-ss15.php (dedicated to the UNESCO year of the light 2015).

References

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  1. University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Gudrun Wolfschmidt

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Wolfschmidt, G. Learning by Doing: Science Education at the Hamburg Observatory. Interchange 46, 57–71 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-015-9242-x

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