| Reports | TAC | Join mailing list |
by Jane Houston
In less time than it takes to clean up the Halloween remnants off Castro Street in San Francisco, we were back on the road, and on our way to a middle school classroom visit at 7:15 am this morning, Monday, November1st. The third quarter moon was high in the morning sky. The beautiful blue sky was a good backdrop for a Project Astro school visit in San Jose, California. While my sweetheart, Mojo entered the classroom, filled with 8th graders, I unloaded the telescopes from the car. His program on the moon was due to begin at 8:00. This was to be the first of four classroom visits over the next week or so - three classroom visits and one star party. He and his teacher partners agreed to model the phases of the moon using styrofoam balls stuck on pencils this morning. This activity allows the students to use models of the sun, earth and moon to discover why the moon phases occur. I came along to set up the telescopes.
His first question to the students in the classroom was: "who saw the moon last night?"
Only a very few hands came up, luckily, but that led to a discussion and an activity using the styrofoam moonballs. Students observe how different portions of the ball is illuminated as they hold it in different positions. The students then modeled the third quarter moon inside the darkened classroom while I set up the telescopes outside. They moved their moons around a single light source (the sun) to see the phases. They discussed the direction the real moon travels around the earth to create the phases. Once they had modeled the third quarter moon, out they came in groups of four. Each table of students came out together for the real thing, the third quarter moon.
The first observation of the moon was a visual one without telescopes. "Can you see the moon?" He asked the students. They searched and found the moon first, and discussed how long it would take for the moon to get from third quarter to waning crescent to new moon. I was impressed at the quick and solid responses. These students learned something about the moon today!
Once the real moon had been located in the morning sky, the students took a look through three telescopes. An 80mm Orion short tube refractor, and 6 and 12.5 inch reflectors. The smallest scope yielded a low power view while the 12.5 incher showed a part of the moon at 125X. I aimed the big scope at Clavius, brilliant with sunlight illuminating the crater walls of Porter and Rutherford. These details were probably lost to the students, but to this old lunatic, the morning moon was a beautiful and new observing experience. Once the 30 or so kids had had their private tour of our moon the class bell rang and off they went to their next class.
Then the next class came in for their special science activity. Teachers, custodians and kids all stopped by to take a look while class was in session at 9:00 am. In the music room, first I heard the clunky band warmup strains "Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light"...What appropriate accompaniment, I thought to myself. Then came the theme music to the Star Wars movies. Wow, I thought! They're playing that just for me!
They cycle continued. The groups of four students came out for a look at the moon. They found it in the sky and through the telscopes. Soon our classroom visit was over. We packed up the telescopes, and said goodby to the teachers. We felt that we had done a great thing that morning, bringing the universe closer to a bunch of 8th graders.
But in truth, we were humbled at who really did the great thing that morning. The teachers, who bring the universe to their studernts every school day, and who care and worry about each student in their care during class and after class, day in and day out. They are the real heroes in my tale.