Date: April 15, 2010

Title: Creativity and Astronomy

Podcaster: Tatiana Ouvarova

Description: As the annual World Creativity and Innovation Week starts today, the natural creative spirit in my ‘Astro 101’ students is highlighted in this podcast.

Bio: Tatiana is a teacher of astronomy and other natural science introductory courses for non-science majors, at Humber College and York University, in Toronto, Canada. She is passionate about the profession of teaching in general, the discipline of science in particular, and the unifying thread of the amazing creative spirit of all humanity.

Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by the American Association of Variable Star Observers, the world’s leader in variable star data and information, bringing professional and amateur astronomers together to observe and analyze variable stars, and promoting research and education using variable star data. Visit the AAVSO on the web at www.aavso.org.

Transcript:

Greetings, this is Tatiana Ouvarova from Toronto, Canada.

Today – April 15th – is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, born more than 5 centuries ago in Italy. Universally considered as one of the most creative persons of all time, with inventions far ahead of his time, his birthday also marks the start of the week-long, annual celebration of our collective creative spirit, with the World Creativity and Innovation Week.

Now, you might be wondering what does creativity have to do with astronomy? Well, it turns out that creativity is an extremely broad characteristic present in all of us – not just the artists – and can be manifested in a variety of ways, including in astronomy classes!

Let me explain. I am extremely fortunate to have a rewarding and busy career, teaching 1st-year, introductory astronomy-related courses for non-science majors, both at Humber College and York University in Toronto. There is an enormous variety of student programs represented in my classes, from artists to accountants to philosophers to children’s studies to paramedics to radio broadcasters and electricians, to name just a few. While they all come from such different programs, they do have one thing uniting them: their personal creativity. And, I happen to give them an opportunity to express it during our astronomy class.

For many semesters now, I have been receiving ‘creative extras’ that I have invited students to submit in addition to their term projects in my two science elective courses: Astronomy (with the term project of observing the moon over several days) and Astrobiology (with the term project of writing a proposal for a space mission to search for extra-terrestrial life in our solar system). These optional creative-extras submissions are inspired by the themes of the projects themselves, and give the students a chance to bring in some of their own interests and talents into the project, for a ridiculously small amount of bonus marks as an extra incentive.

I have been delighted by how extremely creative and inventive the students can be, when they are inspired enough. I have received such a large variety of their original creative submissions that I now showcase them in my office, with submissions divided into 5 general categories: visual art, poems, creative writing, music, and other creations, such as flip-book animations.

And while these might not be grandiose inventions, they are nonetheless effective demonstrations of how easy it can be to tap into our common creative spirit, even in a seemingly-unrelated situation such as taking a science elective course with students from many other programs. Furthermore, I think that these creative-extra exercises provide a more personal opportunity for students to engage with the course material, beyond the standard curriculum expected of everyone. Let’s face it, as a student, I might not remember well the content of exams I wrote in a course a semester or two later, but I will surely remember composing and producing a song about the moon, or writing a short horror story about cannibalistic creatures living in the subsurface of Mars, or creating a painting of an exploding star.

In fact, I would like to finish the podcast with the reading of one of these creative submissions – a poem about one student’s experience of trying to complete the moon observing project. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Moon Poem
by Stacey O’Leary

Oh, Moon, moon, where can you be?
My success in this course is dependent on thee!
Lesson plans, research papers, those I can do.
But moon observations at night – this is new!

With hat and gloves and boots on I go,
And just for safety, my boyfriend in tow.
“Through the Night” was easy as pie,
Countless stars and the last quarter moon in the sky!

The next observations, however, have not been a treat,
They have, in fact, proven quite a feat!
Juggling family, work and school, my schedule is tight,
How will I find time to complete “Night to Night”?

Day one: 9:15, I decide to go out,
With dogs and their owners all walking about.
Beautiful morning, with the sun on the rise,
And the moon, plain as day, although waning in size.

Day two: clocks back, 8:15, it takes some time,
All these clouds in the way, it’s almost a crime!
But after a minute, the moon is quite clear,
With confidence renewed, I almost let out a cheer!

Day three: bundled up in the morning once more,
I head out to my spot in the park – will I score?
Oh no! It’s too cloudy! The moon is not there!
Why now? Why me? This just isn’t fair!

Minutes later, I think the moon comes into view,
Are my eyes playing tricks? What should I do?
I complete my drawing, though full of doubt
I’m in class tomorrow at this time, so it’s out!

Day four: a new plan. At 6:30, I try.
Success! There’s the moon, a crescent in the sky!
A little behind, but with any luck I can
Begin my observations all over again!

Day five: clear skies, with the horizon aglow,
The moon, just a sliver and almost new, I know.
Two more days. Can I do it? Will I succeed?
This Moon Project has been a challenge, indeed!

Day six: it’s cloudy! What will I do?
With this inclement weather, my worst fears have come true!
Cruel clouds have rolled in to foil my plan.
And as for the moon, I’m no longer a fan!

8:15: hoping to salvage my original intent
To avoid wasting time I have already spent,
I head out again, but to no avail,
It’s still cloudy and I fear I am certain to fail!

One day left and I still need two more observations!
Moon, can you hear my sad lamentations?
If you’re there, please come out for a moment or two,
I’m desperate to see you, a second will do!

Day seven: I make two more attempts to observe
The clouds are so thick! They have such nerve!
Constantly blocking my view of the moon,
I thought I could finish. I spoke too soon.

Oh, no! I got sick at this worst time this fall!
An extension was given and I missed it all.
I didn’t find out until Monday night,
And by then it was cloudy, with no moon in sight!

Now it’s Tuesday, with two nights to go,
The extension’s of no use to me now, I know.
Of course, the moon was seen clearly tonight,
Finally now, in an act of spite?

In the first two weeks, I was buried in work,
I couldn’t start right away, now I feel like a jerk!
An ‘A’ for effort, I think I deserve,
In the time I had, I took every chance to observe.

The moon and its phases were easy to see,
When the sky and the clouds cooperated with me.
If I could turn back time, I would change some things,
But it’s too late, it’s over. The fat lady sings.

With hope for success on this project I pray,
My Moon Poem will send some bonus marks my way!
I will do the best with what I’ve got,
For despite my frustrations, I’ve learned a lot.

End of podcast:

365 Days of Astronomy
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