Outreach
A summary of my involvement in outreach
I have always enjoyed outreach and believe it is an important and integral part of being a Scientist.
I am currently a STEM ambassador for the North East of England and regularly speak at various Astronomical societies (both University and regional; see full list of public talks here).
I currently hold an STFC Spark Award for a museum and school workshop project, Space Investigators: Astronomy in the North East. Read more about the project here.
I enjoy delivering astronomy talks to schools, usually around the topic of black holes.
I have a pre-recorded ~25 minute talk about my journey to becoming an astronomer, what an astonomer does, and what I research (black holes and active galaxies).
I am happy to share the video for educational purposes. If interested, email me at: vicky.fawcett@newcastle.ac.uk
Also email me if you are interested in a live talk (science depth and talk time adjustable depending on requirements).
Durham Astronomy Society
Women in STEM Durham Event
Castle College Sunday Seminar
World Space Week 2022 at the Great North Museum
During World Space Week in October 2022, I ran a space day at the Great North Museum: Hancock in collaboration with Newcastle University. This day was funded by the money I was awarded from the 'I'm a Scientist, get me out of here' outreach event.
During the day we ran a number of multi-sensory events, including a tactile treasure hunt, space sonification, planet surface making craft activity, and a JWST IR camera demonstration.
Read more about the day here.
Using an IR camera we can see which cup holds warm water, demonstrating how we need different wavelengths of light to understand astronomical objects.
Myself and students interacting with the artwork using black light torches.
Read more about the project here.
Changing Cosmic Perceptions: an Astronomy-Art Project
In 2019, Durham Astronomy teamed up with two local primary schools and a local artist to create a new piece of artwork for the Ogden Centre West Astronomy building.
I helped run the three workshops at the schools, which involved hands on crafts inspired by the astronomy research at Durham University. We also had the opportunity to present this project at Interact 2019 , the public outreach and engagement symposium.
STEMFest in Space
In 2020 I created a "building a black hole" workshop for STEMFest in Space, aimed at Primary school students. This was part of a virtual event celebrating Space science in the UK. Using only card and marbles, I show how you can create your own black hole and explore what happens when stars get too close.
Read more about the event here.
In 2021 I presented a live talk and Q&A titled 'Monster Black Holes and Quasars'.
Read more about the event here.
Read more about the event here.
Durham Book Festival 2021: Little Read
In 2021, The Little Read 2021 was based on the children's picture book: Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola. This book follows Rocket, who wants to be the greatest astronaut that ever lived.
For the Book Festival event, I helped create one of the Little Read workshops which contain activities for children to try at home and school. My workshop is about exploring space and learning about the phases of the moon.