Outreach 2018

Echo Ridge Astronomical Society (ERAS) Outreach to Local Area School Written By: Thomas Pierpoint on behalf of ERAS membership.

The tail-end of winter came to southwest Virginia with a number of snowfalls.  Despite an earlier weather cancellation, the Echo Ridge Astronomical Society (ERAS) was able to reschedule an outreach for Fries School in Fries, Virginia on Tuesday April 10th. There was a great turn-out with 135 individuals representing 42 families in attendance.   The evening started with a slide presentation in the Fries School auditorium. The slides were projected onto a large wall and were easy for the audience to see. The presentation provided

information about what can be seen in the sky with the naked eye. The information was easy for students to understand and remember. The presenter kept the mostly young audience engaged with questions and answers.  This interaction held the groups interest during the presentation, not an easy feat.

After the presentation, the parents and students went outside to the telescopes set up by ERAS at nearby New River Trail State Park.  There they were able to see a number of objects that were discussed during the presentation that included

M37, M35,  M42, Cor Caroli, and VenusThe telescopes were always on the move and always had something interesting to see as well as a line of kids and parents eager to see it. This was despite the challenges of a bright parking lot ight.  ERAS members used laser pointers, when needed, to help any students that were struggling to pick out key objects. The fly-over time for the International Space Station was in the presentation.  Many students remembered the time and were watching for it. The ISS did not disappoint as it was bright and at a perfect angle to the field.  With their good eyes, students were also able to pick out other, much less visible, satellites. Overall, there was alot of energy during both the presentation and the field viewing. ERAS members were on-hand to answer any questions.  Parents and students were excited and interested. One of the school administrators summed it up nicely in saying, “This is really appreciated and a nice break for the students from the structure of the typical school day.”

Echo Ridge Astronomical Society: Exploring the Universe from Southwest Virginia  www.echoridgeastro.com

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

*************************************************************************************************************************************************