Description
The “Astronomy Camp for Enhancing Student Competency toward Planetarium-Based Outreach for the People of Mueang Soem” was organized with the objective of fostering knowledge, practical skills, and the ability to organize astronomy-related activities among student leaders of the astronomy club and other interested students at Soemngam Witthayakhom School. The project aimed to build confidence among student leaders in conducting astronomy activities at their own school and in expanding these activities to schools within the educational network. A key focus was delivering astronomy outreach through a mobile planetarium, supplemented with activities and resources from the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT). The camp included various components: astronomy lectures, hands-on workshops on constructing simple angle-measuring instruments, and rotating activity stations such as telescope setup training, “whispering through the telescope,” star myths, planetarium sessions, stargazing apps, naked-eye night sky observation, telescope-based celestial observation, morning sky watching, constellation image quizzes, and STEM-based landing module activities. The camp was supported by experts from the Astronomy Club of the Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, and Grade 12 student leaders who previously completed the NARIT Astronomical Society camp. The evaluation of participants’ opinions and satisfaction revealed that both project implementation and individual camp activities received the highest level of satisfaction. As a result, the astronomy club student leaders were able to independently organize and lead outreach activities, extending their efforts to network schools, including Lampang Kanlayanee School (Mueang District, Lampang Province), Anuban Soemngam School, Sanpong Witthaya School, and Ban Pong Paeng School (Soemngam District, Lampang Province).
Keywords: Astronomy Camp, Student Competency-Based Learning, Astronomy Club.
