Outreach and Education

Programmes

EMBL
ESO

EMBL

European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS)

EMBL sponsors an active education facility - The European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS) -  which aims to bridge the gap between research and schools. As part of the EMBL International Centre for Advanced Training (EICAT), the facility regularly hosts small international groups of high-school teachers at the main laboratory in Heidelberg and the Outstation in Monterotondo to work alongside EMBL's scientists on hands-on courses (LearningLABs), based on the state-of-the-art molecular biology research at EMBL.

LearningLABs combine traditional upfront wet-lab teaching with online learning elements in a blended-learning approach to provide contextual links to real life applications of science and technology. Over 3 days teachers attend seminars, visit EMBL's research facilities, perform bioinformatics activities and educational games, as well as participate in science and society discussion forums. LearningLAB topics range from the study of single molecules to organism development, bioinformatics, DNA technologies, and controversial areas, such as evolution and stem cell research. The modules are carefully designed to link to themes covered in secondary science curricula. 

ELLS also maintains a freely accessible online resource centre (TeachingBase) containing a collection of teaching materials.

For more information please visit the ELLS webpages: www.embl.org/ells

ESO

Many of ESO's educational programmes are organised in collaboration with the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE). The ESO-EAAE Astronomy Summer Schools take place annually, for teachers from across Europe. These events provide a chance to learn about astronomy, share teaching resources, and exchange ideas. Teachers do not have to be experts in astronomy, but merely to have an interest in the subject.

"Catch a Star" is an international ESO/EAAE competition for school students, with fantastic prizes including a trip to visit the ESO Very Large Telescope on Cerro Paranal in Chile. The competition includes multiple categories, to ensure that there is something appropriate for all levels. Students choose an astronomical object or topic and write an article about it. Alternatively, they can also take part by making a drawing or painting for an artwork competition.

ESO offers school visits, when resources and staff effort are available, to its headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. To find out more, please contact eduinfo@eso.org. It is also possible to arrange school visits to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Further information about visits to Paranal is available at on the ESO website.

ESO and the EAAE have produced a series of educational information sheets, "Journey across the Solar System", which are available online. There is also a series of astronomical educational exercises, produced by ESO in collaboration with ESA, which use data from telescopes such as ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). These are available online at http://astroex.org/ .