Accomplishments
|| Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) Nigeria has been impacting kids and stimulating their interest in STEM and Astronomy since inception in 2013. AWB has reached almost 10,000 kids across Nigeria through the schools Astronomy Outreaches. Recently, the organization began her journey into reducing the gender inequality in STEM education across the Northern part of Nigeria. With more school outreaches focusing on female students, AWB has reached thousands of female kids in a continued effort to drastically reduce the gender gap in STEM education across Northern Nigeria. The organization has carried out Space and Astronomy Education Outreach activities to school kids with special interest in the girl-child, through AWB’s Girls’ Astronomy Camps, which have so far reached out to about 1000 rural, as well as urban girls across Nigeria.
|| AWB also facilitates the participation of Nigerian Science Secondary school students in carrying out Space Science experiments which are flown to the edge of Space through a Stratospheric balloon in a collaboration with ASGARD project in Brussels, Belgium. The AWB is able to measure the impact level of these kids mostly through a series of qualitative and quantitative surveys. Questionnaires, oral interviews of the students as well as their teachers, testifying of the remarkable improvement in the kids’ performances in science subjects at school. Increased interests in pursuing STEM careers by the kids after their encounters with resources persons during our various Astronomy Outreaches.
|| Also, AWB Nigeria uses astronomy as a tool to counsel, heal and inspire traumatized children that have been displaced due to conflicts in Nigeria. This project, Children Astronomy Outreaches for the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps, employs an interdisciplinary approach to achieve its objectives. Teams of counsellors conduct Cognitive Behavioral Therapy assessment on the children to ascertain the state of their mental health. The data gotten from the assessment helps the project team to refer the children for the required mental health care. The IDP’s are located in remote locations mostly without electricity, therefore, AWB Nigeria set-up a solar powered learning hub to serve as one of the deliverables of the project. The solar powered learning hub comprises of solar panels, inverter, batteries, Smart screen, HD drive, Internet router and charging ports, all in a refurbished 40ft shipping container. The solar powered learning hub is for the children to have access to learning material and for the project team to engage the children remotely.
|| AWB Nigeria organizes activities periodically to mark any Astronomical events happening locally or around the world. These events, such as solar eclipses, World Space Week, Earth’s Day, Yuri’s Night, among others, also provide avenues to create awareness about Astronomy and help to further drive home the need for people to appreciate the universe we live in.
The AWB Nigeria has been able to acquire 30 telescopes so far through various donations from our international partners.
