Last week we did something quite out of the ordinary; we joined the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers for an evening of Skywatching. I had no clue they even existed until a friend brought it to my attention. I was a tad worried that Ronin was going to have a meltdown because the event didn’t even start until about the time when he normally snuggles up with his favorite stuffed crocodile and heads to the land of “superheroes”.
Nevertheless, I soon found myself on a windy backwoods road. We drove into a clearing, where there were five huge telescopes being set up. After a quick review of what not to do (No burping, farting, boob jokes, or poop jokes coupled with, “please for the love of humanity, ask before you touch“. Mommy does not have an extra three grand lying around to replace one of these very expensive scopes.) They laughed, rolled their eyes, and jumped out.
The people were so amazing! They were so friendly and so open to questions from children. When asked what makes up the rings on Saturn, Ronin was quick to pipe up, “asteroids!” The man was so shocked that a 6 year old new the answer it threw him off for a second. I had to chuckle a bit. We learned catchy little phrases for finding constellations like: “arc to Arcturus” and “spike to Spica”. We stood in line somewhat patiently to see what each telescope pointed to. I must confess that it was my first time viewing Saturn and her rings. It breathtaking and it was beautiful. The kids described it as “looking like a sticker that a giant hand had placed on the universal wall”. It was the perfect description
Saturn
Photo Courtesy of Nasa.gov
After that, we lay in a big open field and looked at all the constellations. We played a game where everyone renamed or found their own and made up a story to go with it. My favorites were the Big Y bone, the Red crayon, and T Rex’s Big Fat Bone. Each story became more and more outlandish.
Things Learned
How a reflector telescope works and its basic construction
How to properly touch a telescope
Short history of the contributions of Galileo and Copernicus
Location of Virginia in regards to longitude and latitude
Definition of Horizon, dusk, and twilight
Significance of the North Star and importance in Navigation
Location of Saturn, Arcturus, Spica, and the North Star, the Big Dipper
Various mythologies of Athena, Orion, Lyra
Websites You May find interesting for your budding Astronomers
Complete Sun and Moon Data for one Day
Filed under: OMG, you Unschool!, Road Trippin' and Exploring the World Around | Tagged: Backbay Astronomers, homeschooling, Saturn, Skywatch
We’ve been to our local ones, here in the city, and have seen the moon up really close.
But I’d love to go out to the observatory this summer and see some details.
Good for you!
How fun.