Workshop on introduction to Astronomy at Seva Nilayam
An introductory session on astronomy took place at Seva Nilayam Orphanage in Coimbatore, organized by Open Space Foundation (OSF) in reciprocity with Rotary E-Club Metro Dynamics. The event was coordinated by OSF team members Bharathkumar Velusamy, Aazhimukilan and Krithika Krishnan. The program commenced at 9:00 am and aimed to introduce the wonders of astronomy to nearly 50 excited young girls, who were from different classes ranging from 1 to 10.Their eyes were filled with excitement as the OSF team members entered the room with the telescope. The program commenced with a warm welcome by Mrs. Rajalaskhmi, Principal of Seva Nilayam followed by a motivational address by Rtn. Mahesh, inspiring the students to learn more about the sky.
The initial segment set the tone with an introduction to the planets within our solar system. Shifting focus to the Moon, the conversation explored its surface marked by countless craters and realized the fascinating fact that these formations were a result of asteroid impacts. The focus then shifted to stars. The girls learned about the different colours stars can have and learned how they can spot the planets in the night sky. In addition, the intertwined motions of Earth, Moon and Sun were explained with interactive activities, rendering the concept in an engaging way. The room buzzed with excitement as the young minds absorbed every bit of information. Rockets and satellites also took the spotlight during the event. Rockets were explained to be expansive vehicles capable of traversing space, while satellites were depicted as tools facilitating long-distance communication, kindling curiosity among the young minds. They were also explained about the working of communication systems with the aid of satellites.
Later the class broke out for a small interval at 11:00 am. The students were so eager that they even spent the break time asking questions on astronomy to the OSF team members. The team was also motivated by the interest shown by the kids. After the break, the session took the students to the details on the most interesting astronomical tool, the telescope. The students admitted that they had seen different types of telescopes in movies and were excited to observe through an actual telescope. After understanding the optical principles, working and types of telescopes, the students set out to observe through the telescope.
As the weather was not favourable to observe the sky using the telescope, they had focused a blossom on a tree at a far distance and enjoyed looking at it very clearly. Few kids also tried to spot the presence of any birds on the tree. The teachers also shared the same excitement to watch through the telescope. The old aged people working at the Orphanage also rejoiced by observing through the telescope for the first time. The session went on well with all the faces radiating excitement.
After the conclusion of the session at 12 pm, the students came forward to interact with the OSF team and posed a number of questions. They also noted down the questions on their minds and handed it over to the team asking them to give answers during the next session. Most of the students approached the team to organize another session on astronomy soon so that they could watch out for stars, moon and sun through the telescope. The kids bid us a goodbye with anticipation and hope that our team would return soon to them with more interesting contents on astronomy and answers to their questions. This event indeed created an impact on our team members and we were motivated to nurture their interest by providing more opportunities for the students to discover the wonders of the universe.
