Astronomy is a fascinating subject that inspires many children.  It is also a subject that has many wonderful resources available for teachers to use with their students. A challenge for many educators though is sorting through the large range available to find quality activities that are both scientifically and educational valid and age-appropriate.  astroEDU is a new open-access platform of peer-reviewed educational astronomy activities designed to help educators worldwide.

AstroEDU was launched last week in Warsaw during the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference. It is a project from the IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Development and headed by members of the Task Force for Children and Schools. All educational resources on astroEDU are peer-reviewed by both educators and professional astronomers.

As the platform has just been launched the number of resources currently available is small but growing. The team behind the project are keen for feedback and more resources. Activities use the  Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. This means you are encouraged to discover, review, distribute, improve, and remix them. Whilst currently only in English plans include having other languages available.

How can you help?

If you are an educator visit the site, download some resources and share the word about the platform. You may also consider submitting a resource to astroEDU or offer to become a peer reviewer.

If you are an astronomer you can offer to become a peer-reviewer and also tell any teachers you know about the site.

Robert Hollow is a member of the Editorial Board for astroEDU and a member of the Task Force for Children and Schools for the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development.