Astronomy Education Information for Teachers in Southern AZ

The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) members are dedicated to sharing the wonders of the night sky with school groups throughout the school year. These "Star Parties" give our members a chance to share their knowledge of astronomy with students and parents alike! There is no charge for school star parties; this is a service our organization provides to our community.

Star parties usually begin around 6pm or an hour after sunset (whichever is later), with volunteer members of the TAAA arriving to set up their personal telescopes a half hour prior. As darkness falls, families begin arriving and soon the fun begins! Students are encouraged to get a close look at many of the planets, stars and deep sky wonders they have been studying. Parents are invited to share their kid's experiences at the scope as well. The more successful star parties have other activities going on at the same time, usually with a science theme. Star parties for large groups (50+) usually last for a couple of hours. Smaller star parties can usually be over in an hour or so after observing begins.

The TAAA School Star Party Coordinator, Paul Moss, will assist teachers or administrators in scheduling school star parties. Once scheduled, the star party is turned over to a TAAA Star Party Leader who will work closely with your school as your star party date approaches. The Star Party Leader is responsible for learning EXACTLY where telescopes are to be positioned for viewing at your school and will ensure an adequate number of volunteers and their scopes will be arriving for your star party. And finally, in the unlikely event of inclement weather, the leader will contact your school to handle the possibility of cancellation of the event. Every effort will be made to reschedule canceled events.

Here are the basics to setting up a star party with the TAAA:

Contact the TAAA Star Party Coordinator Early with Your Desired Date

• Contact Paul Moss at school-star-party@tucsonastronomy.org or 240-2084.
• For first time TAAA star party events call Paul for background info.
• Paul will help you select a date best for the moon or deep sky objects.
• We require a minimum of six weeks notice for any star party. We book up early in the school year, so contact us as early as possible!

You Will Need To Supply

• School Coordinator name and daytime phone number.
• Theme of your event and expected number of attendees.
• Precise driving directions to your school from mid-town Tucson.
• EXACT observing location at your school, gates to use.

What You Need To Do

• Contact the Star Party Leader to plan the details of your star party event.
• Walk the site (preferably at night) and look for dangers and bright lights. Select a location away from bright lights. Address hazards with the school staff.
• Get permission and make arrangements for very limited area lighting, suspended sprinklers, etc. in the viewing area. (The school is responsible for water damage to personal property occurring during a star party!)
• Classroom activity prior to a star party (e.g., how a telescope works, rules of conduct when around a telescope, what significant objects will be in the sky?) Note: the Star Party Coordinator can provide a list of significant celestial objects when your Star Party is confirmed.
• Send announcements home.
• Press release announcing event - photo opportunity! Publicize your school and the TAAA.
• Plan alternate/twilight activities (scale of solar system, make a star finder, learning about notable constellations, log page on clipboard for students/teacher to record observations for next day discussion.)
• The astronomers will need to drive to the immediate observing location. This often means unlocking a gate onto a playground.
• Make arrangements for cleaning area afterwards, if necessary.

Great Ideas!

• Science Night theme (e.g., The Moon - Our Closest Neighbor, Exploring the Solar System, Life of Stars, Galaxies, etc.)
• Astronomy Family Night-dinner, outdoor activity, indoor sky show, rocket launches, NASA videos.
• School-wide star parties, (requires lots of planning and cooperation from the school staff).
• Grade level Star Parties.
• Single classroom star parties.
• Overnight Camp Out. All students receiving a good science grade invited to identify and describe a planet, constellation or star at overnight star party.
• Astronomy or Science Club Night.

Click here to load the PDF flyer with star party request information for teachers.

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Would you like to be able to recognize a student that has excelled! The Astronomical League offers yearly awards to young astronomers, for more information you can go to...

http://www.astroleague.org/al/awards/nyaa/noya.html

For an extensive list of astronomy resources on the web, including educational materials try...

http://www.cnde.iastate.edu

Lowell Newsletter for Educators

LEARN (Lowell Electronic Astronomy Resource Newsletter) is issued on a monthly basis by Lowell Observatory. Its purpose is as an informational resource for educators teaching astronomy. To subscribe to this electronic newsletter, send your email address to kevin@lowell.edu. Questions can be sent to Kevin Schindler at this same email address. An archive of past issues of LEARN is available on-line at http://www.lowell.edu.