Outreach Astronomy

[Rainmaker]

Spent another rewarding evening with a few friends from the Canberra Astronomical Society doing Outreach For Schools at St G Gregory's Primary, Queanbeyan.
Setting up at sunset we lined up four 8" Dobs and my Mewlon 210 ready for the onslaught of 10 and 11 year old students and their brave teachers....
These kids are doing an astronomy subject in Year 5, some of the kids were quite aware of the night sky and very excited to see the objects they had read about.

The first scope was going to show Double Stars (Acrux, Alpha Cent),
the second was on Eta Carina Nebula (3372)
third on Jewel Box (4755)
fourth on Omega Centauri (5139)
last one was on Moon and Jupiter

Just a 90 minute session for the kids followed by Pepperoni Pizzas for the adults !!!
All in all a very enjoyable evening !!

[Lady Fraktor]

That sounds like a very fun time Matt, congratulations on the outreach

[OzEclipse]

Sounds like a rewarding night Matt.

Great job

Cheers

Joe

[helicon]

Doing outreach is always fun. Glad that you had the chance to show the kids some celestial showpieces Matt.

[Don Quixote]

Thank you for reporting here on a fine outreach event Matt.
The few times I have had the opportunity to participate in this activity have always been rewarding, although on one occasion the kids nearly pulled the 25x100 binoculars over when they overextended the Parallel Mount.
I should have been paying more attention. Thankfully No one got hurt, and one of the fathers standing nearby caught the rig before it hit the ground.
No pizza, but that is a great idea!
More clear skies to you Matt.

[bladekeeper]

Awesome! Congrats on a great evening of outreach, Matt!

[Benjamin]

An excellent bunch of targets! I had similarly aged kids hanging around at a dark site at the start of the year and without planets and the moon it was quite tough.

[Rainmaker]

An excellent bunch of targets! I had similarly aged kids hanging around at a dark site at the start of the year and without planets and the moon it was quite tough.

We tend to do most of our Outreach after Daylight Saving has finished so the kids can still get to bed at a decent time.
The school and community group sessions are co-ordinated by a very dedicated club member while the Mount Stromlo Observatory sessions are arranged by the Outreach Officer from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Aust Nat Uni) Dr Brad Tucker. During those evenings there also talks given by professional astronomers on various topics.

The all time favourite targets are Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon, though sights like Omega Centauri and 47Tuc through an 18" or 20" scope tend to mesmerise viewers as well...

[Voyageur]

Thanks for a nice report of a successful event of outreach. A wonderful selection of objects. I've seen most of them, but at 19 degrees N, pretty darn low in the sky. Maybe someday I will see them from your side of the world.