The Exoplanets in the Classroom project aims to create educational resources (in French only, for the time being) for elementary and secondary school staff in Quebec on exoplanets and the search for life elsewhere in the Universe, topics in which iREx researchers are world leaders.
WHEN? The development of these resources will be completed over two years, from February 2021 to January 2023. The resources website will soon be online!
WHO? The project is led by the Trottier Institute for Research on exoplanets within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Université de Montréal in collaboration with several partners, and is funded by the NovaScience program of the ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation.
Astrophysicists Marie-Eve Naud, Frédérique Baron and Nathalie Ouellette from iREx, Julie Bolduc-Duval and Lindsay Mann, respectively Director and Communications Coordinator for the Discover the Universe program, as well as Marie-Claude Nicole and Gabrielle B. Durand from École en réseau, contributed greatly to this project, in collaboration with more than one hundred school personnel from across Quebec. Durand from École en réseau have largely contributed to this project, in collaboration with more than a hundred members of the Quebec school staff.
WHY? Thanks to this project, the school community will be well equipped to introduce cutting-edge subjects to Quebec youth, encouraging their natural curiosity for big questions such as: “Are we alone in the Universe? and “Is the Earth unique?”. By exploring these particularly exciting questions in a dynamic and accessible way, our aim is to stimulate the interest of school staff and students in astronomy and science in general. The resources we are creating are rooted in the Quebec school curriculum, and helps to deepen learning and to connect young people to Quebec scientists.
Upcoming Phases:
Phases in progress :
Completed Steps:
Summer 2022: the organisation of a third series of co-creation workshops, to work specifically on the materials developed for the high school level.
Fall 2021: the organisation of a second series of co-creation workshops with a dozen elementary and secondary school teachers to continue the creation of the activities.
If you are a member of the school staff (elementary and secondary school teachers, pedagogical advisors, guidance counsellors, TTPs, etc.) in Quebec, it is still possible to get involved in this project!
There are many ways to get involved, such as testing an activity in your classroom, joining our community on Facebook to participate in discussions, or simply talking about our project with your colleagues.
Fill out the form at https://bit.ly/exoplanetes_ecole_interet to express your interest.
The Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, created in 2014, brings together a team of more than 50 professors, researchers and students from four Quebec universities and the Montreal Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, working on the study of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. The Institute is also actively involved in science education and outreach, organising and participating in numerous initiatives aimed at various audiences.
The Exoplanets in the Classroom project is led by the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Université de Montréal, and involves several partners:
An elementary school, École Gadbois in Montreal, and a high school, Polyvalente de Black Lake in Thetford Mines, are also partners in this project, to which dozens of school personnel from across the province contribute.
The ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation‘s NovaScience program aims to promote a greater understanding of science and technology among youth and the general public, as well as the training of a new generation of scientists.
