Democratising the Cosmos: How TASS is Making Astronomy Reach Underprivileged Students & Rural

This is a poster presented at the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/7th-shaw-iau-workshop/). Title: Democratising the Cosmos: How TASS is Making Astronomy Reach Underprivileged Students & Rural Presenter:Srikumar Balakrishnan The Tamil Nadu Astronomy and Science Society (TASS) is breaking barriers by democratising astronomy education for underprivileged students and rural communities. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, TASS has introduced structured astronomy classes in Tamil Nadu’s government model schools, equipping them with telescopes, activity kits, and visits by trained educators. Its "Astronomy at Doorstep" campaign brings stargazing to 5000+ villages individual events 2 M reach, engaging rural and urban underprivileged. Key achievements include low/no -cost hands-on and live celestial observations. By making astronomy accessible beyond urban elites, TASS fosters scientific curiosity in marginalised groups, proving that the universe belongs to everyone. Collaborators:Dr.T.V.Venkateswaran (Advisor TASS)Mr.Ramesh (President TASS)Mr.J.Manohar (General Secretary, TASS)Mr.Muhilan (Member, TASS) About the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop:The 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop took place 18 - 21 November 2025. The Shaw-IAU workshops focus on astronomy education for primary and secondary school students and teacher training both in universities and in service. This year's Education focus session on Teaching with authentic data and the Science focus is on Galaxies.More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Bluesky and Facebook under @astro4edu