Taichung astronomy program earns MOE honor

2014-12-30

The astronomy program of Taichung Municipal Hui-Wen High School was recently honored by the Ministry of Education with an Outstanding Teacher of Instruction Silver Prize.

Introduced in 2004, the program introduces outer space through a variety of innovative activities like drama performances, poetry composition contests and science camps. It also boasts a seven-story observatory—the biggest in central Taiwan—housing cutting-edge equipment, including an equatorial telescope and inflatable semidome-shaped screen showing simulated images of the sky.

“We are proud of the hard work and achievements of the teachers involved in the program,” a school official said. “The award is testament to their aspirations and capabilities in teaching astronomy in a creative manner.”

Involving 14 teachers, the program encourages in-depth classroom discussions on an array of open-ended questions “This fresh approach has enabled our students to take the initiative in seeking answers to nontexbook questions and exploring the unknown,” the official said.

Another feature of the program is moon- and star-gazing nights held at the school’s observatory and athletics field. Participants take part in such activities as creating telescopes with cardboard tubes and constellation counting competitions.

“These activities open the eyes of the students to the Milky Way, boost their motivation to learn about the galaxy and help them view astronomy as an important part of everyday life,” the official said.

But the school is not complacent about its achievement. “We are eager to take the program to new heights after the recent honor,” the official said, adding that the sky is the limit as to what can be done to enhance students’ cosmic horizons.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=225723&CtNode=413)