WORKSHOP: The Path to K_Space: Co-Creating Space Science Curriculum in Nepal
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Sakar and Hermes goofing around the Karkhana classroom at K_Space
About 2 years ago I began a conversation with Sakar Pudasaini about the possibility of Karkhana leading a workshop on open science in Kathmandu, Nepal. Karkhana is an innovative and exciting social enterprise based in Kathmandu that has been working for over 4 years now to bring fun, creative, experiential, and impactful Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) education to all children in the Kathmandu Valley.
I had the great pleasure of meeting the team at Karkhana in early 2014 when I was working in Nepal as a Princeton in Asia Fellow, and the continued privilege of meeting new additions to the talent pool as it grew. Karkhana's focused vision and mission expanded the possibilities for the local communities' children, moving towards more equitable and prosperous futures in our globalized lives.
The first workshop of the Open Source Hardware and Citizen Science Project in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
The focus of the larger project that I was crafting at the time (late 2014) was around the topics of open science and open source hardware - specifically looking at laboratory equipment, the designs of which could be shared openly across platforms and communities. The first workshop we ran within this larger project took place in September 2015, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in partnership with the House of Natural Fiber Foundation - a new media arts collective that had been working in the sciences for over 8 years now. Two members of Karkhana attended, and together we learned a lot about the design and facilitation of international grassroots workshops.
The original discussion that I had with Sakar in the second half of 2015 morphed along with this greater understanding of the needs of communities, and understanding of the diverse individuals we planned to bring together in these workshops. I realized after the Indonesia workshop that I still retained a latent bias towards my background in physiology, and my own experience with science education and training. These workshops, along with my work in inclusive and co-created design at DSIL Global, have shifted my own perspective on the nature of open science, and the way that we (as a global community) can create a new definition of science that is more inclusive, contextual, and heard.
Ayisha Rahman (Malaysia) and Hermes Huang (USA) lead an activity in the Karkhana classroom in Kathmandu, Nepal during K_Space. Photo credit: Karkhana
When Sakar told me that he wanted to focus the workshop in Kathmandu on space science, I said: "Let's do it." As an applied science, there are few things more expansive than allowing a generation of students across the world to imagine a future where we can use technology, arts, engineering, history and science in order to engage the earth, the sky, and beyond.
So, here we are today, October 2016 in Kathmandu, with an amazing group of men and women from across Asia working towards creating curriculum, experiences, and tools for students and individuals across Asia to imagine a future in space.
This workshop would not be possible without the generous support of the Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network, which is funded by IDRC Canada and UK DFiD. This project is undertaken in collaboration by DSIL Global, HONF, and CSDS.