By this project Irkutsk Regional Astronomical Organisation (IRAO) and Irkutsk Planetarium (IP) will make the school subject of astronomy more practical, find and inspire the amateur astronomers and give the people a chance to look at the night sky. All these serve the socio-economic development of the remote territories and give the talented school children a chance to access the education.
A great number of clear sky days on Baikal region make good preconditions for the observations. On the other hand, schools in Russia are not equipped with telescopes and teachers do not use it in classes. We have found the teachers and amateur astronomers, who are willing to be trained and will perform the astronomy observations on the regularly basis.
In the first stage, we’ll distribute 5 telescopes to 5 remote villages. The recipients will be picked on the basis of evaluation and with the help of the Regional Ministry of Education.Each recipient will sign an agreement on telescope usage. Through personal visits and via Internet, IP and IRAS will provide them with the training courses, assistance programs and specially developed printed materials calendars, games, etc. Not efficiently used telescopes can be relocated.
TFSV project will continue after this first stage (we are asking funds for). The second stage includes the seminars and festivals throughout the region. The crucial success factor is the development and implementation of effective system of usage of the telescopes. The observational desks and even astronomical observatories for the public will be established. The best recipients will start amateur astronomers’ clubs.
The success in TFSV project will result in more TFSV projects in our region and hence will influence the socio-economic development of the remote areas, since the population will get an interesting occupation connected with the science entertainment and education.
Fostering the interest in astronomy will result in developing the curriculum resources that promote the study of astronomy, physics and math and other