Our Sky Trekker program continued to grow this year and was very well recieved.
Our judges received instruction on what to do this year.
Our Friday night's class listens while Lisa discusses what is required of them.
The evening program is geared around three levels: junior, beginner and advanced. All programs start with an introduction to the night sky. Junior level was added this year to provide a way of our youngest astronomers to start learning about the night sky. They need to find the Big Dipper and the North Star. Beginner level requires that the kids identify three bright stars and six constellations or asterisms. The advanced program required that the student complete the beginner level and then be able to find three of five types of deep sky objects: Nebulas, Globular clusters, open clusters, double stars or galaxies. Additionally, they had to sketch a solar system object. Students who participated took home their study guide and a planisphere.
Those who completed the course got a certificate and a Dilly Bar ice cream bar!
The Sky Trekker program was featured in the March 2009 issue of the Astronomical League's "Reflector" magazine. The article is here.
