World Space Week

Čt, 2008-01-03 10:51, Milan Halousek

Czech Space Office was already six times the national coordinator of activities of World Space Week in Czech republic.

World Space Week 2008 in the Czech Republic – final report

In the year of 30th anniversary of the first space flight of Czech cosmonaut (Vladimír Remek, 2.3.1978, Sojuz28) the Czech Republic participated for the seventh times in the World Space Week (WSW) activities.

National coordinator of WSW in the Czech Republic was – as usually – the Czech Space Office (CSO) and its Centre of Student Activities.
Almost one hundred propagation and popularization events were organized by several dozen of institutions and individuals what demonstrated a big interest in WSW in the Czech Republic – and it is also a proof of evidence of a public interest in the space technology.

For public and school children was held 75 actions – lectures, exhibitions, observing of satellites and ISS overflies, observatories and planetariums programmes for children and adult, space day programmes in schools. In the all activities participated over 4,500 visitors and 24 organizations organized them.

During WSW were published five newspaper articles that introduced ideas and targets of WSW and program WSW in the Czech Republic (Newspapers Dnes, Valasky denik, Pardubicky denik, Hradecky denik).
WSW program and its targets was introduced for public by 16 broadcasting in the nation-wide and local radio stations (broadcasting stations the Czech Radio Praha, the Czech Radio Pardubice, the Czech Radio Hradec Kralove, the Czech Radio Leonardo, the Radio HEY) and on one TV programme (The Czech Television station).

A lot of WSW events were organized at primary and secondary schools all over the Czech Republic. They were in a form of discussions, exhibitions, lectures, articles in school magazines (printed and web-based) or presented on wall-newspapers. Information for pupils and students are not only about cosmonautics history but in the first place about cosmonautics as more and more developed scientist branch to which they could sooner or later come in too.
A number of school competitions were awarded by small propagation presents provided by the Czech Space Office (paper models, bookmark, pads, sticks, etc.).

The biggest part of WSW popularization activities was held – as traditionally – on observatories. They prepared number of lectures, discussions and exhibitions for general publics by professionals, semi-professionals and also amateur organizations. Their role is in scope of propagation and popularisation of cosmonautics at the present time irreplaceable. Most of them cooperate actively with local schools. Their education work is aimed straight to the most important age group – pupils and students.
Active participants in WSW were also associations of persons concerned in a space technology and astronomy: Czech Astronomy Socienty, Kosmo Klub, etc.

Long-term project, that was oriented on students that are interested in cosmonautics and modern sciences, was finishing during WSW - Mars 2008 Expedition (organized by the Children Press Agency Domino, and by CSO). The long-term knowledge-based competition for children was finished by the training in the Euro Space Centre in Belgium for winning crew (210 applicants, 10 finalists).

We can state that in the year 2008 we managed to establish success of programs the World Space Week in previous year.

On behalf of Czech Space Office, National Coordinator of WSW
Milan Halousek

World Space Week 2007
In scope of program WSW 2007, that was specialized to celebrations 50th anniversary of the Space Age, were realized 46 lectures, 13 exhibitions, 8 popularization activities, two seminars. one children art competition and one press conference.
The most medial monitoring action was participation of Czech student Veronika Simova on parabolic flight ZERO-G in Las Vegas which was organized by World Space Week Association.
For this flight were chosen only nine students from all over the world. Three students entered for the Czech selection of participant of the flight ZERO-G. One of them took back her registration before start. Czech candidate was chosen by the voting of CSO staff.

WSW2007-Elementary school Strupcice

WSW2007-Elementary school Klasterec nad Ohri

WSW2007-Gymnasium Teplice

Zero-G 2007 - Veronika Simova, Czech Republic

Czech Space Office - Education Centre
Katerinska 10, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic
Milan Halousek, e-mail: halousekczechspace.cz
tel.: +420 602 153 564