Travelling through space and exploring new worlds fires most young

peoples’ imagination. ESA’s new-look education site for students and
teachers, shows how fascination with space can be used to increase
interest in all areas of science and technology and increase the number
of students who go on to study science, engineering and technology.

To help teachers attract more students to scientific subjects, ESA has
redesigned its education site. This site, aimed at students and
teachers, is full of information, ideas and classroom tools, all
presented in an attractive and user-friendly format.

The site now has dedicated sections for high-school students, higher
education and teachers. Students can learn how science affects our daily
lives, as well as find information on how to take a trip on the ‘vomit
comet’ as the zero-G airbus is affectionately known. Teachers can find
easily downloadable material, information on training courses, and lists
of other interesting sites run by ESA’s partners.

Space is not only useful for teaching traditional scientific subjects
such as physics, chemistry and biology, it can also be used in geography
lessons to increase knowledge of our world and its environment, and to
inspire art work and help in language teaching.

In preparing the site, ESA’s Education Office sought the advice of
European teachers to ensure its contents answer their needs. The
Education Office is hoping to have a lively two-way dialogue with
teachers and students, and is eager to hear new ideas. The site is now
available in English but material will soon be offered in other key
languages of ESA Member States.

eduspace in five languages

As part of the drive to provide material in different languages,
eduspace, the European Earth observation site for secondary schools, is
now available in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and
Spanish, with Danish soon to follow.

For teachers searching for inspiration, these two sites are a good place
to look for new ideas. For students already ‘hooked’ on science, come to
ESA to find information on career options in space, maybe exploring new
planets or helping to protect the one we live on.

Education

* Education
http://www.esa.int/esaED/index.html

* eduspace
http://www.eduspace.esa.int/