EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

TAAS has a world-class program that brings exciting science to the classroom with star parties throughout the school year. Inside the StarLab, a portable planetarium, a TAAS presenter delights visitors with a visual tour of the well known constellations and their mythology. Classroom activities include Rainbow in the Night Sky, All About Comets, and Making a Pocket Solar System. A field of telescopes provided by volunteers provides outstanding viewing of the objects in our night sky. Often a TAAS volunteer will deliver a laser-guided tour of the constellations.

Descriptions of classroom activities:

Rainbows in the Night Sky- Using special lights and diffraction glasses, students will understand how astronomers measure the temperature of stars through spectroscopy.
Pocket Solar System- Students create a paper model that shows the relative distances between objects in our solar system.
All About Comets- Students discover where comets form, what they are made of, and get to see a model of one created right in the classroom.

Scheduling for TAAS star parties for the following school year will be completed in March. For further information or to request a star party for your school, please email education_coord@taas.org. Include your school name and contact information, approximate dates of interest and category of star party.

Descriptions of Star Parties:
Category 1 School Star Party

• StarLab portable planetarium with TAAS presenter
  
  
• Rainbows in the Night Sky
  
  
• All About Comets
  
  
• Pocket Solar System
  
  
• Telescopes to view objects in the night sky
  

Category 2 School Star Party

• Rainbows in the Night Sky
• All About Comets
• Pocket Solar System
• Telescopes to view objects in the night sky

Category 3 School Star Party (weather dependent)

• Telescopes to view objects in the night sky

Members of the Educational Outreach Committee will meet with your School Star Party Coordinator to help plan your event. Some things to consider before your planning meeting include:

• Advertise your star party to students and families well in advance of the event. If you are preparing a pamphlet or newsletter, please include the TAAS website (www.taas.org).
• The school should provide at least 10 volunteers to assist with the star party.
• The telescope field needs to be as free as possible of lights and accessible by car.
• Classrooms to be used for the presentations should be close together, near the StarLab, and also close to the telescope field.
• If the StarLab is going to be used, 25 people can be accommodated during each presentation.
• The TAAS volunteers would appreciate snacks and drinks during the evening.