In the evening of March 9, 2004, I left Montréal and flew to the small aboriginal community of Mashteuiatsh (formerly known as Pointe-Bleue), located on the shores of Lac-Saint-Jean, near the town of Roberval, Québec. About 2000 Ilnu people live there. I had been invited by the Musée Amérindien de Mashteuiatsh, an historical and archaeological museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Ilnu people who lived and occupied this vast territory for thousands of years. Why did they invited an astronomer? Northern lights, that's why! The museum has been host to a photo exhibits on the northern lights for some time, and they wanted to have someone explain the phenomenon. I was more than happy to oblige! Even the sky wanted to cooperate: shortly before landing in Roberval, a bright green aurora appeared above the horizon, a sure sign that I had come to the right place!
I spent two days there and spoke about northern lights all right. But I also wanted to touch on the subject of Mars exploration. So I prepared an 30 minutes PowerPoint presentation on Mars exploration, past, present and future, followed by a short DVD film showcasing the northern lights. Each presentation was followed by a visit of the exhibit where the auroras where demystified.
I gave six lectures in two days (a real marathon!), with an average of 30 people per conference. I met with students from Grade six, Secondary 1, 2 and 3 classes, an adult education class, and also gave a public lecture on the second night for the friends of the museum and the general public. On both evenings, I also hosted a public star party behind the museum. I had brought my own telescope, and with the help of a local amateur astronomer who had also set up his instrument, we were able to show Saturn, Jupiter, the Orion nebula and other winter sky gems. It was a total success. And the icing on the cake: a second aurora on the night of March 10th dazzled everyone!
I absolutely enjoyed the experience: the warm welcome, the quiet audiences fascinated by the images of Mars or the auroras, the witty questions and discussions that followed, everything was perfect -- even the weather! The comment that came back most often: "We never get the chance to see and hear a specialist on these subject because we live so far away from University and Research centres. Having you here is like a breath of fresh air." Hence the importance of the CASCA-Westar Lectureship, who pays for most -- if not all -- of the expenses associated with such a visit. I promised myself that I will go back next year to give a new serie of lectures...
Wich prompts me to deliver a final word of warning: if you decide to be a CASCA-Westar Lecturer and think you will do this only once, think again; like other enjoyable and pleasurable experiences in life, this one is easy to get in but hard to quit!
The CASCA-Westar Lectureship is
a program to send established astronomers to smaller centres, without astronomy
departments, to bring astronomy to a
variety of audiences. On the evening of the 22nd, I gave a two-hour
workshop to pre-service teachers in the Faculty of Education at Brock
University. It was touch-and-go, getting from Toronto to Brock through
rush hour and a snowstorm, but I managed. It's always a pleasure to work
with this kind of enthusiastic audience. On the afternoon of the 23rd, I
gave a "tour of the universe" presentation to two elementary-level
classes
at Ridley
College, an independent school in St. Catharines. A large fraction of the
time was spent in answering students' questions. As is my habit, I had
them write down the questions ahead of time, so that I could take them
home with me and put the answers on a FAQ page on my website for teachers!
On the evening of the 23rd, I gave a public lecture at Ridley College,
on"
Cosmic Evolution". It attracted a good mix of students, teachers,
amateur astronomers and the general public. I've already been invited
back to give a talk for the Niagara Centre of the RASC.
This visit was ably organized by Heather Scott, who is CASCA's Education Coordinator, and a science teacher at Ridley College. On behalf of CASCA, I thank her for her help.
John Percy