Total solar eclipse education for young generation at Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan

Abstract

The path of Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) on March 9th 2016 passed through several cities in Indonesia and one of them is Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The TSE natural phenomenon provided a special moment and gave unforgettable and lifelong experiences for children who live in Palangkaraya. Some miss-information and a bad impression can be felt by children who do not understand about TSE that causes momentary darkness during totality phase. Therefore we designed a children education programs about the TSE that as follow: (1) socialization about TSE, (2) Popular astronomy seminar, (3) How to observe the Sun? (4) writing competition about TSE and (5) TSE observation. The events were held on March 8th - 9th 2016. More than 200 representatives of elementary school students and teachers throughout Palangkaraya have actively participated. The keynote speaker was an Indonesian expert astronomer with help from alumni of astronomy olympiad in order to provide inspiration for the participants, especially to the students. We conclude that students as young generation of the nation may have more motivation to work in science by direct learning from natural phenomena.