Hey, I’ve got kids. What’s this all about?
To introduce HAS children to the joys of Astronomy via:
- Kid friendly, quality instruments under dark skies
- With seasoned Astronomers as their mentors
- And structured observing programs with a rewarding, positive end goal (certificates and pins)
The Equipment
We’re launching the program with a brand new Orion Starblast 6 tabletop dob (and table!), brand new Nikon Aculon 7x35mm binoculars, and a kid sized picnic table with benches to provide a nice platform for sketching and logging as needed. The dob will be fitted with a Telrad for star hopping.
Observing Programs
We’ve chosen the following Astronomical League programs to get started:
- Sky Puppy for kids under 11
- Constellation Hunter
- Asterisms
- Universe Sampler (authored by HAS member Amelia Goldberg!)
You may purchase Sky Puppies or Universe Sampler from us for $10each, or you may order directly from the Astronomical League.
Rewards
Kids can earn a “My First Teles
cope Observation Certificate” on the spot. They can also earn coveted Astronomical League pins by completing the AL program requirements and submitting their documentation to the HAS AL Liaison, Doug McCormick.
Program Rules
- The kid must be a current HAS member at any level (regular, associate, student or sustaining) to receive the HAS certificate, and a student, regular, or sustaining member to qualify for an Astronomical League award.
- Session dates and times must be agreed upon by both the families and the mentors. Don’t just show up. Send requests to kids@astronomyhouston.org
- Mentors will commit to 1 hour of guidance. Extra time is at the mentors discretion (they have observing goals, too.)
- Kids will be able to use the equipment on-site for the remainder of the evening
- A parent, or guardian must be present - this isn’t babysitting. And we want the parent/guardian to help keep the celestial body orbiting. ;-)
- All other dark site use rules apply. See the Observatory page for more info.
