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Enabling the Discovery and Increasing the Engagement of Astronomy on Tap Events Online

Presentation #345.04 in the session Public Outreach Resources and Programs — iPoster Session.

Published onJun 29, 2022
Enabling the Discovery and Increasing the Engagement of Astronomy on Tap Events Online

Astronomy on Tap (AoT) is a worldwide collaboration of satellite locations hosting outreach events that are designed to lower the barrier to entry for both presenters and the audience by combining science presentations, interviews, and panels with trivia, games, music, and prizes in a public, social- and/or entertainment-oriented venue. Approximately 1500 AoT-affiliated events have been held in over 80 locations worldwide and online since 2013. Now more than ever, AoT events are streamed live and/or recorded and posted online, primarily on YouTube but also via Facebook or Instagram, and often live-tweeted, potentially expanding the size of our audience by orders of magnitude. In this poster we describe the online presence and activities of AoT beyond the online events, including the eponymous website AstronomyOnTap.org, headquarters (HQ) and satellite accounts on social media and YouTube, and online tools used to make events more interactive, for example through quizzes and live Q&As. We also describe our current efforts to collaborate with an NSF-funded project called The Circuit, which is developing an online platform for public discovery of STEM events and projects and enabling research on how people engage in STEM, ScienceNearMe.org. By maintaining many individually controlled and loosely coordinated online accounts and a relatively hands-off HQ, AoT events are developed and spread organically and maintain unique characteristics commensurate with the goals and resources of local organizers, including what and how they communicate online.

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