How to be an Effective

Astronomy Educator /

Mentor

Outreach to Date

220 Events

1000 Hours

Reaching 26,000 People

Over the past eight years

How it all started A long time ago in a galaxy far away called Queens, New York

Boy Scout Troop 172

Unit Atomics Division

Fast Forward 30+ Years

My First Outreach Event – Princeton Elementary

CFAS 8” loaner Scope and ETX 90

Tips to be Effective

Stick with the easy targets: Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Orion

Enjoy talking to people – children and adults

Be comfortable using your equipment

Discuss the object you are looking at

Know a few facts about the object

Moon

• Distance

• Size

• Craters

• Flag

Jupiter

• Distance

• Size

• Bands

• Moons

• Red Spot

Saturn

• Distance

• Density

• Rings

Orion

• Distance

• Location

• Stellar Nursery

Presentations

Astronomy Day at the Orlando Science Center

Intro to Astronomy

What is Astronomy, Planets, Moons, Our Solar System, Comparing Sizes,

Our Sun, Our Sun compared to other stars, Solar and Lunar Eclipses,

Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, Meteoroids, Meteorites, Life Cycle of Stars,

Light Year, Binary and Variable Stars, Types of Stars, Star Clusters – Open

and Globular, Constellations, Galaxies – Spiral, Elliptical and Irregular, Black

Holes

Works well for both adults and children

Mah Kah Wee Program Center

Girl Scout All Stars

Tips for Effective Presenting

• Practice, Practice, Practice

• Know what you want to say on each slide

• Check your time during the presentation

• Make the presentation interactive – Ask questions

• Taking Questions – During or After?

• Be prepared for technical malfunctions

Know Your Audience

Elementary students – six groups a day for five days

Magic Planet Science on a Sphere

Press, members of the print and broadcast

media

Astronomy is not an easy hobby

There’s a lot to learn

• The Night Sky – What to see and where is it

• Telescope Operation

• Eye Pieces

• Filters

• Power Supplies – Batteries

• Finder Scopes

• Cameras

• Dew Control Systems

We can all use some help

My First Astrofest

My Second Astrofest