Outreach
Outreach
Bringing astronomy to the public — through Durbin, the Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy & Astrophysics, and writing the cosmos in Bangla.
Our mission
Astronomy, shared widely
Outreach is one of CASSA's three founding missions. It runs through two national programmes — Durbin and the Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy & Astrophysics (BDOAA) — both supervised by the Center's Directors, alongside a Bengali-language popular-astronomy writing programme and public astronomy nights at the rooftop IUB CORE observatory.
Programme
Durbin
Durbin — Bangla for binoculars or a telescope — is CASSA's volunteer-based astronomy outreach initiative, built around astrophotography, immersive content, school visits, and public "Astronomy Nights." It was founded on 9 March 2023 by Dr. Lamiya Mowla, seeded by the University of Toronto's Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. From May 2026 it is supported by a British Council Bangladesh arts grant through Women of the World.
Volunteers form fixed teams each cycle to develop lasting materials from Durbin astrophotography, operate telescopes at public events and remote imaging camps, and produce prints and visual-art installations of deep-sky imagery. Completers receive a Letter of Experience.
In Bangla
Writing the cosmos in our own language
Bengali article series
CASSA writes astronomy for a Bengali-reading public across four article series — from new research explained simply, to translations of the classics. Read them all in the Bangla section →
Programme
BDOAA
The Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (BDOAA) is CASSA's national educational programme, with its office at the CASSA rooftop and national rounds funded by IUB's Department of Physical Sciences since 2020. Through regional and national rounds it selects the K–12 team that represents Bangladesh at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) and IOAA Junior, and runs workshops and conferences by and for school students.
All outreach with minors is governed by CASSA's safeguarding policy, with a zero-tolerance-to-inaction stance and trained safeguarding focal points at every event.