Astrolab is an enquiry-based astronomy lab allowing students to obtain hands-on experience with real astronomical observations in a classroom setting. It follows the “Learning-by-doing” methodology: the students learn based on experience, assimilating concepts through actions. Astrolab is a good example of a STEM activity: combining Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Astrolab is geared towards undergraduate and graduate science students and can be implemented as a workshop or as (part of) an undergraduate course taught during the university semester. Manuals, power-point presentations and a self-explanatory tutorial are available to help trainers/tutors get started. The use of Astrolab is free of cost and because the observations can be carried out with remote telescopes, there is no need to invest in astronomical equipment or pay for travel to an observatory. To access Astrolab, one has to register and log on.

Astrolab will help build capacity and enhance interest in Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields by

• offering students an attractive hands-on STEM project, with the possibility for students to independently plan and obtain their own astronomical observations and to make their own discoveries.

 And, because the students are learning-by-doing, they are actively engaged in the learning process

• offering universities support with the implementation of an observational astronomy workshop or course at a low budget. This is particularly valuable for universities in developing countries and/or universities with restricted budgets.

If you are interested in using Astrolab at your university, please contact us to discuss your plans and register on this site for full access to the materials. 

The principal objective of Astrolab is to offer (undergraduate) university students a real, inter-active observational astrophysics experience: from defining an observation to a research result. The “Learning-by-doing” methodology allows the students to take an active part in the program through experiments (observations) and to assimilate concepts through actions. 

Students participating in Astrolab have the opportunity to learn how to

• Prepare and develop a scientific project;
• Acquire astronomical data;
• Analyze these data and how to draw conclusions;
• Present their findings to their peers.

These are all learning outcomes directly related to the (astronomy) project.

The students often work in small groups, need to plan the activities and share their results, acquiring transferable skills along the way. As a result, and because of the “Learning-by-doing” approach of Astrolab, the more general learning outcomes of Astrolab are that the students learn to 

• Apply knowledge and skills from all STEM areas and learn new ones;
• Combine these skills with soft skills such as teamwork, setting goals and planning;
• Report on their scientific experiment;
• Develop critical thinking.

In summary, Astrolab is a good example of a STEM activity that combines Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and that enables the development of several important transferable skills. See also Astrolab Summary.pdf.

The implementation of Astrolab is flexible, with manuals and presentations ready to use. The most common ways to use Astrolab are:

• A workshop of one or two weeks;
• Part of the undergraduate university curriculum, as (part of) a compulsory or an elective course;
• An elective project for a BSc diploma

Astrolab can also be used as a basis for a MSc level project.
One can also use only parts of Astrolab, depending on the context that Astrolab will be used in. For example, for a more technical, engineering course, one can focus on the properties of CCD images or on the optical properties of a telescope. If the focus of the course or workshop is on astronomy, one can use the Astrolab modules on observing eclipsing binaries or other types variable stars, e.g., Cepheids. Light curves of for example eclipsing binaries can be used to determine the radius of the stars and the mass-ratio of the two components of the binary. Such a project shows the strength of Astrolab: with simple, straightforward observations, it is possible for the students to obtain a genuine scientific result, giving the students a taste of what research and science has to offer.

Given the Learning-by-doing character of Astrolab and the autonomy of the students – they choose the object, plan the observations, request the observations etc. – the students need significant coaching, monitoring and assistance from a Tutor. The Tutor can be the trainer at the workshop, or Teaching Assistants if Astrolab is part of a university course, or other persons involved in the Astrolab program.  The key is to make sure that the tutors themselves are trained and have access to resources, so that they can optimally support the students. Precisely because the students execute their project in a fairly independent way, is it essential to monitor the student’s progress and support the students when needed.

The Astrolab project provides support for the Tutors in the form of a Tutorial and, it also provides guidance on Project Management applicable to Astrolab.

The Tutorial, “Astrolab Tutorial for Tutor Training.pdf”, guides you through the process of taking observations and analyzing the data.  This Tutorial is accessible after registration. It contains a comprehensive set of exercises to obtain a light curve of an eclipsing binary using the Las Cumbres 40-cm telescopes. For each step along the way, the Tutorial has an example and it invites the user to carry out the activities themselves, including taking the data, and analyzing reducing the astronomical images.  The Tutorial includes some background information and where appropriate it refers to the Astrolab Manuals.

The Astrolab project also offers Tutors guidance on how to plan implementation of Astrolab and how to monitor progress of the student projects. A presentation, Presentation on Astrolab Project Managment.pdf” and a document, “Astrolab Project Managment.pdf” describing this support can be found in the Section Project Management of the Astrolab website, which is accessible after registration.

The Astrolab project provides Manuals which can be used during the classes. The document Astrolab Manual Outline contains the outline of the full set of manuals and describes how to use Astrolab.

Other resources available on the Astrolab website are the Tutorial for Tutor Training and, a guide for the Project Management aspect of implementing Astrolab. The Tutor Training includes a set of presentations (pdf’s of pptx files) that can be used during the classes.

A few documents can be accessed without registering, namely Astrolab Manual Outline and Astrolab Summary. To access any of the other Astrolab resources, please register.

NOTE: to use Astrolab as a full, semester long undergraduate course, the current package of Astrolab manuals and presentations will need to be expanded to include one or more astronomy concepts and topics that can easily be tied to (simple) observations. The current contents of Astrolab does not cover a full astrophysics course! If you have suggestions and would like to contribute, please contact us.