Cosmic Connections – Bridging communities through Astronomy
Beginning in October 2025, the Eastern Regional Council has been implementing a project entitled ‘Cosmic Connections – Bridging communities through Astronomy’. This project is funded through the National STEM Community Fund as one of the awarded projects for the 2025 call.
The aim behind this project was to make the study of our universe more accessible to various sectors of our communities. This project also aimed to raise awareness on light pollution within the Region, as well as encourage young students to pursue careers in Astronomy in the future.
The main collaborator of this project was the Astronomical Society of Malta, who assisted the Region in the implementation of every phase of this project. The project was divided into different phases, with each phases targeting a different segment of our communities.
1st phase – Outreach projects at various schools.
Between October and November 2026, the Eastern Regional Council and Astronomical Society of Malta visited a number of schools within the Region to provide interactive and engaging workshops to students on how they can study the universe through telescopes. Students also learnt about the sun, how to safely observe it, as well as the problems of light pollution. Students were also provided information on career paths.
2nd phase – Does it Matter? A public lecture on anti-matter and career opportunities at CERN.
The second phase of this project was very ambitious in scope. The Region managed to collaborate with the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in order to bring a scientist to Malta to provide a public lecture at the University of Malta. Ms. Milena Vujanovic, who works as scientist at the Anti-Matter Factory in CERN as well as an Education outreach officer, was able to provide a compelling lecture on how work, the work carried out at CERN, as well as career paths. This lecture was held in collaboration with the Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy.
3rd phase – Star Gazing sessions
In April 2026, the Region will be organising two star-gazing sessions for the general public.
4th phase – Building of an Armillary Sphere
Finally, the Region is currently working on building a large Armillary sphere for installation within one of our localities. Further details are yet to come.
