How can my school apply and how are schools selected?

Schools may be involved in PULSE@Parkes either through selection of their school for access to an observation slot, or by working through the online material. We have a non-discriminatory access model, allowing any registered school to apply, subject to their compliance with our other requirements (listed below). At present we have approximately 10 slots for Australian schools to observe per year. Observations will take place during the school day, typically between 10am to 2pm.

In order to participate in an observation session your school must:

  • Be able to visit the Australia Telescope National Facility headquarters in Marsfield, Sydney on the nominated day and time. Schools are responsible for arranging their own travel to and from the venue and providing adequate supervision of students onsite at Marsfield. Telescope time is extremely valuable and in demand so it is vital that you can attend at the required time.
  • Provide web access to students prior to the observing session. Classes will work through the preliminary readings and activities prior to their visit.
  • Agree to allow your students to communicate and collaborate with other schools, project groups and partners.
  • Preference will be given to schools willing to allow their students and staff to take part in formal educational evaluation and research conducted by CSIRO and project partners from Charles Sturt University, subject to any ethics clearances and parental permissions.

For Round One observations (April to October 2008), observing sessions are restricted to students in Years 11 and 12 studying Stage 6 Physics. We are only accepting applications from NSW schools in Round One. For subsequent rounds we hope to be able to offer the observing sessions to students in Year 10 as well. We also hope to be able to offer the observing element of the program to schools in other states in later rounds.

Online Application

To apply for an observing slot for your school please visit our Online Application page. Before completing the online form ensure that you have read through all of the project details on our Teacher FAQ page.

Schools or indeed anyone may freely use the online project materials without applying for an observing slot. Data in the archive may be downloaded for analysis for educational use. If you wish to use it for professional scientific or other use please contact the Project Coordinator.

Please be aware that some elements of the project such as interschool collaboration may have restricted access for privacy reasons. Use of these sections will require a username and password to log in and are restricted to schools that have applied for observing slots for the near future.

CSIRO ATNF reserves the right to select schools for specific sessions subject to operational or education research needs.

For more information please contact:

PULSE@Parkes Project Coordinator
Email: Robert.Hollow@csiro.au
Phone 02 9372 4372
Fax: 02 9372 4444
ATNF Headquarters
PO Box 76 Epping
NSW 1710

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