As mentioned at the recent CASCA general assembly in Winnipeg, the CASCA-Westar Lectureship series is picking up steam with 10 volunteer astronomers from coast-to-coast, and Jayanne English participating in the most recent on in Erikson, Manitoba. Her report is below. For more information on the program, as always, contact heather_scott@ridley.on.ca
“May 7 & 8, 2004 I attended, as the CASCA Westar Lecturer, Pi Kinewabum Anonguk (Come Look at the Stars!) hosted by Rolling River First Nation. This whole event from my perspective was very successful.
“Dan Thomas from the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre and I each gave a talk at Erickson Collegiate Institute and then at a Pow Wow at the First Nation's Southquill Hall. Dan talked about First Nations Astronomy and I gave a talk called "Dwarfs, Hot Smoke, Giant Worms and Other Mythical Features of Our Milky Way Galaxy". About 100 students attended our talks on Friday and I guess that 40-50 people remained for our talks after the traditional dancing and meal on Saturday. About 1/3 were first nations people I believe.
“I stayed with a family on the reserve and have some insight into the attendance level. The people of the community lead busy lives and were building sweatlodges and preparing for ceremonies the next day as well as planning an outing for Mother's Day on Sunday. Additionally they did not know if they would even be interested in astronomy before hand! Jeff Kerr and his 3 partners did a marvelous programming job in that they ensured there were hands-on events: rocketry and star-gazing through telescopes. A couple of members of the Winnipeg RASC came out to help. These events really piqued the interest of people on the reserve, according to the conversations that I had, and I suspect that if viewing sessions happened a few times throughout the year, an audience for talks might even grow larger.
“Personally I had a WONDERFUL time! Jeff and Buzz were excellent hosts, I enjoyed learning about First Nations Astronomy from Dan very much, and the family I stayed with was warm and kind. I hope the organizers are as proud as they should be.”
There were two significant education sessions at the recent CASCA/CAP Congress in Winnipeg – please see the article entitled Education Sessions at the CASCA Assembly for more information on the talks presented there.
In the latest (June 2004) issue of Crucible – the magazine of the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario – there were several short articles on astronomy and space science in the classroom. For those interested in astrobiology, there was an article on “Microscopic Astronauts” by Dr. Tony Phillips (NASA), and the effect of weightlessness on bacteria (both harmful and benign types). The full article can be found at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/23feb_yeastgap.htm?list1127873
Other articles include one by John Percy introducing the CASCA Education Website, and one by Phil Plait (a.k.a. the Bad Astronomer) on the Cassini probe and its upcoming missions around Saturn. Finally, there was a feature article by Dr. Ralph Chou on Observing the Sun Safely, which indicates how solar observing relates to the high school curriculum, as well as how solar observing activities can fit into any curriculum. The article also reviews different methods of observing the Sun.