HELP!!! Need help, outreach night with Girl Guides, southern Sydney, April 9
Hi all,
Some time ago the Girl Guides asked for some people with scopes to put on an outreach evening for them. Three IIS'ers have put their hands up.
A month ago I was told to expect 50 young women and adults. Today I got the total figure - 174 young women (ages 9 to 17) and adults!!! Way too many for only three mad nutters to look after!
Is there anyone who would be able to come join us to put on a show for the Girl Guides? The event is being held at the Australian Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan, next to Campbelltown in southern Sydney. The set up field is this one: Girl Guides outreach field
The astro viewing is set to run from 6:30 to 8:30. We are being asked to be on site at 4:30 as a ranger needs to escort us onto the observing field, and escort us off the field to leave our cars in the car park - we won't be able to have our cars next to us for this. If you can't make it for 4:30, let me know and I'll let the rangers know to expect some late comers. We have also been invited to join the Guides for dinner too before the viewing - which is why the 4:30 arrival time for us so we can set up and join them for dinner.
It is a wonderful thing you do.
I wish you success.
May I suggest that you suggest eye patches.
I did a show for some kids many years ago and it was easy to get them to wear eye patches
I am aware that the 9th of April is the New Moon weekend. I was aware of this seven months ago when the Guides asked for help. Yet I didn't think twice about taking the chance to share my passion with these young people. I'm hoping that some other good folk will be willing to join Peter, Geoff, myself and now Nick too. 174 people is a heck of a lot of eyeballs to get through,
Might be a blessing if clouds roll in.
I attended a show as a guest and there was one scope and about forty students.
Did not work well at all.
The astronomer set out to show various doubles so for most they waited ages just to see in their mind the same as they had waited ages for in the last line.
I would not bother with doubles at all.
Globulars go over well.
I wish I could help but I can not.
Don't underestimate the eye patch suggestion have the put them on at dinner.
Stick to low mag.
Ban phones unless they have an eye patch.
Alex, the eye patch is a great idea. I've asked the Guides leaders to have the girls cover there torches with red cellophane. I'll mention the making of an eye patch too. Thanks for the suggestion.
The only double star we will be showing is Alpha Centauri. That Alpha Centauri is a triple system won't be overlooked in our descriptions either,
Alex, I am a "possible" for this but concerned about access. Both my scopes are not easy to transport, the refractor would take 3 or 4 trips or I could assemble and then wheel the reflector if the pathway to the field is flat all the way.
Can you elaborate on access? What scopes are preferred?
I've been there before for a wedding, its a nice place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mekon
Can you elaborate on access? What scopes are preferred?
From what i understood they will let use take our cars into the field to drop all the gear off. They just don't want the cars there during the viewing.
My wife and I could probably come. I have a 10inch dob and 8x40 binos.
I also have a 25x100 with no mount and a 127apo on g11 with gem. However I think a extension tube is needed to use it visually. I am also a noob at setting up and operating the g11. If someone can bring a mount for the 25x100 and a extension tube for the apo...I could bring those too.
Maybe someone can help me operate the g11 and I can show people the moon through the dob. Might help alleviate the pressure on the other scopes.
Let me know if this would help and when I get back to Sydney in a few days I'll get in contact with you.
Many thanks Ed, Dimithri & John. I hope to see you all there.
John, as Ed mentioned, we will be able to get our cars onto the observing field, but we won't be able to leave our cars there. The Botanic Garden rangers are very jealous of keeping cars off the fields, so they insist that a ranger escort us onto the field to set up, and escort us off the field once we're done unloading.
When the viewing session is done, the ranger will again see us onto the field, and off again once we're packed up.
Dimithri, your 10" dob will be great! The Moon won't be a target that night as it is a New Moon Saturday. But Jupiter certainly will be!
If you are able to help out, one thing to consider bringing is a small step ladder for any shorties. A step ladder with a looping frame is great as it gives people something to hold onto, and not our scopes! I may bring my 17.5". If I do, I always bring my step ladder for outreach as the EP can be upto 1.8m high at zenith - I need a single step to reach it then too,
Which scopes? Upto you really. But a 30" scope, with the EP 4m up is something I would actually discourage.
The link below is for a quick two pager, or you could copy/print it front and back on a single sheet. Has sky chart, key things to see, and more. Assuming you used this, you could hand them out as they arrive. As they walk up to each telescope to look and to learn about what that scope is viewing, you could circle the location or the item they are observing so when they go home they have something to reference and remember.
Perhaps even attach something about a local astronomy club.
I have run small personal star parties. I like to have a hand-out, something they can look at and take with them. This works well.
Got to this link. You will see skymaps for Northern Hemisphere, Equatorial and for Southern Hemisphere. There is a PDF download for the two page handout. http://skymaps.com/downloads.html
The current one is for March. They will publish one for April.
Thanks for the link, Ed. Great idea. I've forwarded the current April chart to the Guides. It will give them something to do while queuing at the scopes. I've also asked that the Guides cover their torches with red cellophane too.
Thanks Ed, Wavy & Adrian for putting your hand up to help, . I'll PM you details shortly.
Dimithri & John, hopefully you'll be able to join us. Let me know as soon as you can as the organizers and rangers need our names.
Is there anyone else who would be able to help out with this, please? The more that come along, the more the attendees will be able to see, and the shorter the queue behind the scopes become.
I wish I could be with you but the best I can do is offer some ideas. Some of these I am sure you have thought of but perhaps not.
Encourage people to bring
Binoculars – 7X35 or larger.
Small flashlight – have some red film available with some rubber bands so you can cut up pieces and cover the flashlights. Good task for a non-astronomer. If your site is truly dark this could be a safety item AND it will let them look at the handouts.
Naked eye targets
At my private star parties I have had the best response when I show people something that can be seen with the naked eye but which would normally be overlooked. Or something that is just below NE visible but near a clear guide star and binocular visible.
Examples would be the Great Nebulae in Orion, the Pleiades or the Hyades cluster around Aldebaran. They seem to relate better to something that is there that they can see but never noticed. Or something that they can find on their own when they get home.
I first point it out with a laser to get them to notice it. Then I help them target that same thing with binoculars. So many people have binoculars and never considered pointing them at that sky. Once they see it in my 10X50s they are amazed what can be done with binoculars. And the interested but not yet committed can pick up 10X50 fairly inexpensively.
If you do this you can have a station being manned by one person with a laser pointer who can point out the binocular targets on the handout which are visible from your location. This can also be helpful in helping people understand how to use the chart.
Videos you can run on a laptop or a monitor
This video would be a great one to have playing on a laptop. I don't know if Taurus is out in your sky right now but if it is, perfect. Let the binocular owners get excited about seeing something with the binoculars they already have. Encourage binocular owners to bring their binoculars. And then point out the binocular targets on the hand out sheet.
Next is another video that would be good to have running on a laptop. If you can attach a larger monitor to it or project it on a screen that would fantastic.
The person hosting the laptop does not have to have a telescope handy or even be that knowledgeable about astronomy. All they need to know is the set-up of the site and can explain the handouts.
In the video they reference a planisphere. Have one to show.
He talks about using the smartphone. Have one around that can be demonstrated.
This way you can have non astronomers helping you and keeping people engaged and excited while they wait to get to a telescope. Getting them to use binoculars and a smart phone could be the key to getting them engaged with astronomy.
Helping someone use the smartphone, then see with binoculars and then see through a telescope could be enough to light the spark you are seeking to light.
We now have Peter, Geoff, Wavy, Ed, John B., John R., Adrian & myself. Thanks fellows,
I'm sorry to see that no women are putting their hand up to help.
Anyone else like to help out?
One thing that we'll be doing during the night is a survey on colour perception. The Guides' organisers have agreed to a survey to be carried out on what colours the many participants can see. There will be a set of boxes, each with a different title according to the colours that the participants can see. They will be asked to write their age on a bit of paper, and pop the paper into the box that best matches their colour perception. As it will be mainly girls and women in attendance, any blokes will be asked to mark an 'M' to distinguish their gender. John B. will be bringing his 18" scope, so the colour survey will be done next to his scope. I am very curious to see what the outcome will be. My feeling is that most girls will be able to see pinks, blues and greens in M42, and pink/red in Eta Carina - but we'll see.
Hi Alexander, Just a thought but have you anyone who can jerryrig up a scope for anybody in a wheel chair? There are some simple ones on the internet and It might make a point that astronomy can be the realm of the less mobile as well....... even if no wheelchair people come, the word will spread if you noise it about.
Kindest regards,
Norm.
Way too many for only three mad nutters to look after!
