Big Impact Astronomy · Astronomy for Equity

Astronomy for STEM Education in Libya with Atiyah Alhasadi

·45 min·3 clips

A Sudanese refugee says astronomy helped him see the sun differently after crossing the Sahara.

1. Big Impact Astronomy examines astronomy education in Libya through Atiyah Al-Hassadi's work with Roya for Astronomy and Space Applications. 2. Host Mike Simmons, founder of Astronomy for Equity, interviews Atiyah Al-Hassadi, an astrophysicist, physics graduate, TEDx speaker, and Libyan STEM educator. 3. The episode asks how astronomy can give students hope, STEM skills, and community connections during conflict and displacement. 4. Atiyah says schools in Libya were used to host displaced people, leaving classes with about 40 or 50 students and unstable academic years. 5. He describes armed activity after Libya's revolution and civil war between eastern and western groups as barriers to students' futures. 6. During the 2014 ISIS takeover of several Libyan cities, young people joined astronomy activities because few other activities were available. 7. Atiyah says Roya expanded astronomy sessions into peace building, teamwork, leadership development, and opportunities for women and girls. 8. Roya held a first Libyan space camp in Cyrenaica at a Zeus temple and linked the location to the history of science in Libya. 9. Mobile planetarium events in Benghazi and Tripoli brought adults who remembered visiting planetariums as students. 10. Roya used World Space Week activities, school astronomy clubs, water rockets, and public displays to involve students and families. 11. A solar activity in Libya included Sudanese refugees who had crossed the Sahara while fleeing civil war. 12. One Sudanese participant told Atiyah that he had hated the sun before the session and then requested eclipse glasses for his children. 13. Mike and Atiyah connect astronomy with climate education, solar energy, satellite monitoring, and space applications. 14. Atiyah says university students could build a CubeSat to monitor climate change in Libya as an initiative rather than a national project. 15. Roya creates indoor school activities to include girls who may face limits on attending outdoor or nighttime events. 16. Astronomy clubs received five telescopes for schools in Tripoli, Benghazi, and Derna after crowdfunding and three- or four-month sea shipments. 17. A remote observing program connected Mike with Benghazi students studying information technology and other fields rather than astronomy. 18. Nicole Stott, a five-time NASA astronaut and engineer, met Libyan students remotely and served as a concrete example of a possible space career. 19. This is an interview with reflective discussion, personal testimony, education examples, and technical-connection interruptions. 20. Students interested in astronomy, STEM education, science outreach, and community recovery will find the episode most relevant.

As heard by us

A grounded look at astronomy outreach in Libya, where clubs and classroom work make science education more reachable amid war, displacement, and barriers to participation.

Astronomy for STEM Education in Libya with Atiyah Al-Hassadi follows a Libyan astrophysicist and co-founder of Roya for Astronomy and Space Applications as he talks through lectures, workshops, public stargazing, and school astronomy clubs.

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Want to hear how astronomy clubs in Libya bring space science into schools and communities living with the aftereffects of war?

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