Important requirements:
- Self respect. Members should be able to take home weekly photographs they took to show them off to friends and family! (They will need a folder for this.)
- Peer respect. It is important that astrophotography be displayed on a hallway bulletin board, along with other astro club photos.
Community respect/parental pride. Get the kids picture in the local paper or more. Get them publicity. Let them be proud of their achievements. It is as important as school sports. - International contact at least once during club session.
- Fun is key. Group participation is key. No homework. Remember astronomy club is not the same as an astronomy class.
- All artwork and research by students will be included in the calendar project, if doing.
- The club should include two parties during club time and an evening star party for observing.
- The star party with telescopes should be, ideally, timed with a lunar eclipse, meteor shower, ISS pass, etc. Hosted by the astronomy club, with an open invitation to the whole school and their families and friends.
Club benefits:
- StarPals membership
- Astronomy-themed DVD library
- Planisphere (allow $5 expense)
- StarPals swag
- One prize weekly, e.g. pin, meteorite, moon-in-my room, DVDs, poster, 2 passes to Adler
Optional, but recommended to do choice of one or both:
- build a spectrograph (add $10) and decorate & showcase
- build a telescope (add $10) and decorate & showcase
Notes:
Each 90-minute session should have 60-70 minutes of lesson material to allow time for roll call and forming constellation groups. Any additional time at the end of class can be used for Galaxy Zoo, exploring Google Earth, or creating artwork/researching for the calendar.
At each session, kids wear a randomly chosen badge with a picture of a star and a name of a particular star. Students will figure out constellation they are part of and join the other members of their constellation. Each will introduce himself or herself by star name and together as a group recite their constellation name. Constellations are teammates & collaborators for the day. See supplement “Star for a Day” for more details and instructions.
