Astronomy for Homeschoolers: Winter Sky, Summer Eclipse
*The event has already taken place on this date: Wed, 11/02/2016
Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.
Winter Sky, Summer Eclipse
Three Wednesdays, 9:30 to 11:00am, Oct. 19, 26; Nov. 2
Fee $65
Enrollment deadline: Friday, October 14 by 4pm
For the fifth consecutive year, the RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium offers astronomy courses for homeschool families with students around 12 to 15 years old looking for scientific challenge and substance.
These are multiple-session courses, each session building on the previous ones. All sessions are on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00am.
Each 90-minute session is divided between activities and discussions in the Planetarium lobby and sky lessons and programs in the Star Theater. The Planetarium building is closed to the public during our sessions. Parents are always welcome, either to sit at the side of the room or work alongside their students. Enrollment is limited to 25 students. Prerequisites: none, except a desire to learn and willingness to support a learning environment for others.
Required for enrollment: a parent or guardian’s functioning e-mail address.
Instructors: Steve Fentress, Director, RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium; Paul Krupinski, Strasenburgh Planetarium star show presenter and operator of Mr. K's Mobile Dome Planetarium
In Winter Sky, Summer Eclipse, students will be introduced to:
- What stars, constellations and planets wecan see in the sky over the coming year
- Ways of finding astronomical objects in the sky, now and in the future
- How solar eclipses happen and what to expect during the eclipses on Aug. 21, 2017 and Apr. 8, 2024
We will use some mathematical processes, including angle measurement, plotting with coordinates, and multiplication and addition to calculate eclipse dates, but we aim to avoid math anxiety!
We will offer “non-quizzes” enabling students to assess their knowledge, but no tests or grades.
Each student will receive a notebook of information sheets and will make and take a basic star wheel to identify constellations that will be visible on any date and time
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.