Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Apr 24, 2007 23:51:11 GMT -6
Adler Planetarium Representation at the A.N. Pritzker Elementary School in Chicago
24 April 2007
24 April 2007
This was my second year as the Adler Planetarium's Representative and participating in the Pritzker school annual science activities. Last year, I brought the Mighty Nikon 3" refractor for the event, but I decided on the more portable, (and lighter), personal 4.5" reflector for the school kids.
The event is arranged by the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) of A.N. Pritzker Elementary and described as follows:
"The PTO is a non-for-profit organization with the sole purpose of aiding the students, teachers and parents of A.N. Pritzker by increasing educational opportunities for the school’s 640 students. The aim of the Science Night program is to ignite a love of all things scientific and get our students EXCITED about
science, engineering, technology and mathematics through
exploration of science in a playful, informal environment. This goal is achieved through a variety of fun and interactive hands-on experiments and demonstrations."
science, engineering, technology and mathematics through
exploration of science in a playful, informal environment. This goal is achieved through a variety of fun and interactive hands-on experiments and demonstrations."
I arrived 20 minutes late due to unusually heavy traffic, but made my presence known and set up the scope just outside the gymnasium doors. The skies were overcast and a slight drizzle threatened any type of telescope demonstration. I was hoping to show the near half Moon to the school kids, but it remained solidly behind heavy fall like clouds. Regardless, word got around that there was a telescope outside and the children were encouraged to investigate. I focused the instrument on distant rooftop objects and finally on the revolving rooftop helicopter landing lights on top of a nearby hospital.
Tyler Wiggins, (Age 10), was very interested in looking through a telescope and exclaimed "Everything is Upside down!"
Many remembered me from last year, and I too recognized some of the students and parents who were excited about astronomy and getting the chance to peer through a telescope.
Here my friend Louise Christmas and her son pose with me as we reacquainted with each other.
Organized for the Science night activities were many tables with an assortment of varied science themed experiments and demonstrations. I was the astronomer for the evening and one of many science stations that the kids stopped by to visit. Each one had a card that the adult presenter had to sign off on as proof of their participation.
Here, I proudly jot down my signature and Adler affiliation for this young man's stations card.
The staff at Pritzker was very friendly and accommodating. They brought out chairs, eats and drink for me. And asked if I needed anything...
Here I partake in a spicy "Fideo" soup. A type a Mexican angel hair pasta meal.. Quite good. They also brought out to me a tasty tostada, which I consumed during the brief time between visits.
Mark Moen and his son Eric (age 8), took time to discuss astronomy and peer thru the scope.
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Addendum: I received this nice email from Mr. Moen and I thought I would share it:
"Dear Mr. Guzman,
Thank you for presenting last evening at our science night. You are very much a part of what makes this event so popular.
I enjoyed chatting with you and was delighted to see the picture of me, my son Eric and you on your website today. The entire article is excellent and certainly captures the spirit of the night. Ericka Boone has distributed a link to it via the school's Googlegroup. I will check with her about putting a link on the school website.
Eric hasn't seen the picture yet, but when he gets home from school today I'll show him. These are things that help imprint good memories. Whether he will remember it all, I'm not sure, but he certainly talked a lot about tasting different types of water (well, tap & bottled), making slime, bringing home a mini compost pile (worm included), viewing through your telescope, and more.
Thanks, again! I look forward to see you (and the moon) next year!"
--
Mark Moen
PTO Treasurer 2006-07
Mr. Moen,
Let's not let an entire year go by to experience astronomy at your school. In the meantime, please do visit us at the Adler Planetarium for our public sessions on the first Friday of each month - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Or register as a member of the Chicago Astronomer and receive notifications of small star parties the Chicago Astronomers conduct. You can read about our sessions here on this site. A link would be great and the Chicago Astronomer would be pleased to serve as your astronomical resource.
Thank you for the note...
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Samantha Washington and her son Eric (age 11), enjoyed the view and asked about the telescope characteristics.
A frequent question here, and at other public sessions, is that they have a telescope at home, but can't see anything. So they lose interest and leave it in the box. I encourage all to either contact me by email for assistance, visit the Chicago Astronomer website or stop by the Adler Planetarium on the first Friday of each month for our public viewing session. There, anyone can bring their telescope for assembly and/or instruction on the proper usage of the instrument.
Chania and her daughter Ciera were debating with each other on what exactly was in the eyepiece.
It was a cool evening with refreshing breezes. At times, we felt the start of a slight drizzle, but luckily it held off. I have never been out in a rainstorm with the scope, and I wonder what kind of a lightning rod it would make?...
I like this one a lot. It shows the excitement of a young boy's enthusiasm and the anticipation of the young girl.
It is quite a shame that the skies were were overcast. Saturn and her rings along with the nearly half Moon would have be great to show the young people. Many parents felt it was impossible to view Saturn's rings in anything than a professional research type telescope. But, I explained to them, even in a modest 60mm refractor, a host of targets can be resolved and appreciated be anyone who desires to.
Everybody was friendly to the astronomer and posed for a nice group shot.
The school children inside were experimenting with a slimy-gooey semi-liquid substance, and carried it outside in cups. I would watch where they held it in relation to the equipment, hoping for no accidental spillage. No mishaps.
The coordinator of the evenings event was Ms. Ericka Boone, A.N. Pritzker PTO Chair, and Ph.D. at the University of
Illinois at Chicago Department of Psychiatry.
Running around attending to the event activities, here we pose in a quiet moment before she had to close up shop.
(Maybe she can figure out why we astronomers spend hours in the dark, in the bitter cold and sweltering heat just to catch a celestial event.)
I enjoyed working the Science Night at Pritzker and if asked again, I would like to participate ...and return for the soup!
