Overview

The goals of DAP are to provide quality STEM education, reduce gender inequality, raise awareness about environmental crises, and promote peace and equality in Pakistan. This will be achieved by developing and delivering a curriculum for intensive Astronomy-based workshops in 20 madrassas, private and public schools and by conducting outreach at schools and in public places for underrepresented communities. The curriculum will be designed by our team in line with existing science textbooks and will include Astronomy topics such as the stellar life cycle, concepts of planetary science, and the habitability requirements for space colonization in order to demonstrate scarcity of resources on Earth and processes involved in climate change. The work of local historic and contemporary astronomers such as ancient Lahore’s astrolabe craftsmen and Dr. Nergis Mavalvala will be honored in the workshops. Solar and night-time observations will be held with the help of student volunteers who have attended our workshops in order to reinforce the workshops’ teachings and inculcate leadership skills.

An end of year online DAP essay and poster competition will be organised to bring together participating schools and those that may be interested in DAP activities in the future. The schools that become part of DAP’s network will receive support in the form of teacher training and outreach material. The project will maintain an active social media presence and website to maximize outreach.