On Saturday 6 May 2017, EU Space Awareness hosted a walk-in workshop at the EU Open Doors Event in Brussels, Belgium. The European Parliament opened its doors during its open day event to celebrate Europe Day on May 9th, which attracted thousands of visitors from many ages and nations. The workshop also caught interest from EU Commissioner Carlos Moedas.
Space Awareness was invited by the European Commission to be part of the EU Research and Innovation stand for the EU Open Doors on Saturday, 6 May 2017. The stand was called ‘EU Science all around the clock!’ and presented nine EU research projects to illustrate how science is part of everyday life, from waking up to sleeping. At stand n°4, Space Awe showed families where dreams can take you, by hosting activities that focused on imagination, design, and changing perspectives.
The walk-in workshop attracted many visitors from all ages and nations.
Representatives of the Space Awareness project Michael de Korte and Denzel Ignacia (Leiden University), collaborated with people from the European Commission to welcome hundreds of visitors to the walk-in astronomy workshop, aided by resources from the Universe in a Box and the Earth Ball. The project was received very well by kids, parents, teachers and tourists. And also the elderly, like the 80-year old Anna, who wondered about the beginning of the Universe and quantum mechanics and said, “Space is amazing!”.
The Space Awareness workshop also caught interest from EU Commissioner Carlos Moedas, whom visited the workshop to learn about constellations, signs and perspectives. You can take a look at his visit on the following video (around min 7:32).
Representative Denzel explains to EU Commissioner Carlos Moedas how viewing the stars can change perspectives, and how changing perspectives can alter our view of the stars.
Seeing the resources displayed on the tables and the many visitors engaged by the activities, the Commissioner tweeted:
Love science and research? There's a lot happening on @EUScienceInnov stand (n°4). Bring your friends and family #euopenday #beleiveineurope pic.twitter.com/mFJOanABPB
— Carlos Moedas (@Moedas) 6 mei 2017
With its endorsement of the Space Awareness project and this open day, the European Commission has provided a great platform for public engagement with astronomy. 12,000 people visited this year’s open day, meaning great exposure for the Space Awareness project, as well as resources from Universe Awareness.
For pictures of the Space Awareness activities during the EU Open Day 2017 click here.
Every year on the 9th of May, institutes from the European Union open their doors to the general public to celebrate Europe Day. Last year’s event attracted over 15,000 visitors to the headquarters of the EU commission at the Berlaymont building in Brussels, Belgium. This year marked the 25th edition of the open day, that also celebrated several space-related projects funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Programme, like the Space Awareness project.
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