Astronomy from the Ground Up (AFGU) is a program from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), developed to provide informal science educators at science centers, nature centers, museums, and other informal education venues with new and innovative ways to communicate astronomy content to their visitors. The ASP provides professional development workshops, education materials, and an active community website to enhance these efforts.


Professional Development Workshops

Educators can join the AFGU community by participating in one of our many workshops, which take place both as online distance learning workshops, and as in-person workshops at museums, parks, and professional conferences. To learn more about upcoming workshops and other learning opportunities from AFGU, see our Upcoming Workshops page.


Astronomy Education Materials

AFGU participants receive toolkits of materials and have access to a rich library of hands-on activities and other resources through the AFGU website. Here are some sample activities used by AFGU participants to get their audiences excited about astronomy:

• The Pocket Solar System
• Exploring Lunar Phases with a Daytime Moon
• Red Hot, Blue Hot: Mapping the Invisible Universe
  
  

Online Community & Continued Learning

AFGU is a growing community of more than 600 educators and interpreters from museums, science centers, nature centers, and parks around the U.S. who are actively enhancing and expanding their capacity to address astronomy topics for their visitors. The AFGU website provides a forum for participants to exchange ideas and resources and to experience continued learning opportunities from the ASP and other experts in astronomy, space science, and science education.


Partners & Funders

Astronomy from the Ground Up is a program from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and has been made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation and NASA. Partners have included:

• National Optical Astronomy Observatory
• Association of Science-Technology Centers
• National Park Service
• National Association for Interpretation