Astronomy Day 2012

  Saturday April 21, 2012 at the Museum of the Rockies, join us for Astronomy Day.  The committee is working hard on putting together another fun event this year.  Dr. David Levy, founder of several comets, is scheduled to be our guest speaker.  Activities, teacher classes, exhibits and solar viewing are also on the schedule.  More information will be posted as we get closer to the event.  This event is free and open to the public.

Join us for the 15th Annual Astronomy Day in Bozeman on April 2

Astronomy Day scheduled in Bozeman April 2

NASA astronaut Richard Arnold headlines a day of space science-related outreach for kids and adults in Bozeman on April 2.

A day of astronomy-related events for kids, adults and teachers will be held in Bozeman on Saturday, April 2, including a presentation by astronaut Richard Arnold, who flew to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Teacher in Space program.

Public events take place at the Museum of the Rockies from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and an evening telescope viewing session is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. All Astronomy Day 2011 activities and Museum admission are free.

At 1 p.m., MSU President Waded Cruzado will give the opening remarks, and at 1:10 p.m., astronaut Richard Arnold will speak about his mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in March 2009. An autograph session with Arnold will follow. Seating is limited to 200 people and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The auditorium doors open at noon.

At 3 p.m. NASA Solar System Ambassador Shirley Green will present “Pluto and New Horizons,” and at 4 p.m., Robert Leamon, a Living with a Star Discipline Scientist, will present about NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Kids’ activities include face painting, sun catchers, star finders, solar system jewelry and more. Telescopes will be set up for solar observing (weather permitting), and exhibits in the main lobby will feature activities, information and give-aways from NASA missions and Montana State University researchers.

Planetarium shows include “Star Signs” and “Here Comes the Sun.”

Educator workshops are a new addition to this year’s Astronomy Day. From 9 a.m. to noon, grade 4-12 educators can learn about lunar and meteorite samples stored at the NASA Johnson Space Center and become certified to bring these samples into their classrooms. The workshop is led by NASA education specialist Tony Leavitt. “Ice in the Solar System” takes place from noon to 1 p.m. Designed for teachers of grades K-12, it is led by NASA Solar System Educator Shirley Greene. Montana OPI Renewal Units are available for both workshops, and pre-registration is required.

Astronomy Day is sponsored by the Museum of the Rockies, Montana Space Grant Consortium and its Space Public Outreach Team (SPOT), Project WET Foundation, Southwest Montana Astronomical Society, and MSU’s Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center, Department of Education, Extended University, Solar Physics Research Group and SPIE.

For more information visit http://eu.montana.edu/AstronomyDay/

Astronomy Day 2009 at the Museum of the Rockies

Four-hundred years ago Galileo Galilei began using telescopes to examine objects that were located in the sky. Immediately he made important discoveries: the Moon’s craters and mountains, moons revolving around Jupiter, dark spots on the Sun, phases of Venus, etc. The year 2009 has been named the International Year of Astronomy and commemorates the beginning of a new science ushered in by Galileo himself. The public is invited to join the Southwest Montana Astronomical Society, the Museum of the Rockies, the Montana Space Grant Consortium, the Solar Physics Research Group of Montana State University, and the SPIE Student Chapter of Montana State University, during Astronomy Day on April 4^th to participate in the celebration.

Planned activities include: planetarium shows, a number of presentations that will cover exciting subjects ranging from ‘Astronauts and Aliens’ to ‘Crow Indian Perspectives on the Night Sky’. A telescope exhibit will showcase many astronomical types of equipment and the Sun can be observed from the plaza entrance to the Museum (weather permitting). A fun children’s program will be offered and also a live demo on Internet astronomy will occur.

Astronomy Day will take place at the Museum of the Rockies from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturday, April 4, 2009. The day’s events and Museum admission will be FREE to the public. For more information please view the ‘Astronomy Day 2009‘ section of this website for a more detailed agenda.