Outreach

This page is designed to keep members of the Columbia astro community informed of outreach events. Most importantly, it allows people who are interested in volunteering to check in and see what is being planned and where their help is needed. There is also a mailing list for outreach volunteers that anyone in the department can sign up for at ​https://mail.astro.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/outreach-volunteers.

The official homepage for our outreach activities (the public website) is ​http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu; there you can read the schedule, sign up for our public mailing list, and check up on the weather and other links.

If after reading this you think there's a way you'd like to help out, or you have a suggestion, please contact Summer Ash. Remember that you do not have to have any experience doing outreach/teaching to participate. The most important thing is that you care and want to share the Universe with people; after that everything will fall into place!

Observatory Manual

If you would like access to the observatory manual for use, care, and maintenance of the telescopes and facilities on the roof of Pupin Hall (Rutherfurd Observatory), please check out the Rutherfurd Observatory Manual.

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Upcoming Events

Note: If you are signed up to volunteer for a date and you cannot make it, you must find someone to replace you. Please inform the relevant Captains for the evening of who your replacement will be.

Scheduled

​Lecture Schedule Poster

April 1/April 3, 7:00 - 9:00pm Sidewalk Astronomy
Coordinator: Bryan Terrazas
Volunteers (4): Lauren Corlies, Jenna Lemonais (Wed. only), Dan D'Orazio

April 5, 8:00 - 10:00pm Ximena Fernandez, "Eyes in the Sky"
Lecture Captain: Lauren Corlies
Lecture Volunteer: Yong Zheng
Roof Captain: Dan D'Orazio
Roof Volunteers: Steph Douglas, David Hendel, Jenna Lemonais, Marcus Levine
Wildcard: Bryan Terrazas

April 8, TBD - RV School Visit, Staten Island
Volunteers: Destry Saul, Erika Hamden, Susan Clark

April 12, TBD - RV School Visit @ Columbia, Manhattan
Volunteers: Summer Ash, Lia Corrales, Steven Mohammed, Lauren Corlies

April 13, 10:00am - 12:00pm - Double Discovery Center
Coordinator: Summer Ash
Volunteers (2):

April 13, 2:00pm - 4:00pm - Family Astro
Coordinator: Summer Ash
Volunteers (3): Susan Clark, Lia Corrales

April 19, 8:00 - 10:00pm Destry Saul, "Extragalactic FM"
Lecture Captain:
Lecture Volunteer: Yuan Li
Roof Captain: Adrian Price-Whelan
Roof Volunteers: Jennifer Weston, Jose Montelongo, Doug Thornhill
Wildcard: Gladys Velez-Caicedo

April 20, 7:00 - 9:00pm - Atlas Obscura
Coordinator: Summer Ash
Volunteers (2): Adrian Price-Whelan, Doug Thornhill

April 25, 7:00 - 9:00pm - RV School Visit, New Rochelle
Volunteer: Steven Mohammed

April 26, 7:00 - 9:00pm - Girl Scout Group Visit
Coordinator: Summer Ash
Volunteers (3): Lauren Corlies, Steven Mohammed

May 3, 8:00 - 10:00pm Kerstin Perez, "Why Dark Matter Matters"
Lecture Captain:
Lecture Volunteer: Rohan Sawhney
Roof Captain: Adrian Price-Whelan
Roof Volunteers: Steph Douglas, Gladys Velez-Caicedo, Yuan Li , Susan Clark
Wildcard:

May 17, 8:00 - 10:00pm Emily Rice, "Exoplanets Everywhere!"
Lecture Captain:
Lecture Volunteer: Yuan Li
Roof Captain:
Roof Volunteers: Ximena Fernandez, Lauren Corlies, Marcus Levine
Wildcard:

Outreach Officers

Officers are expected to hold their title for at least one semester, but they are encouraged to hold it for longer.

• Outreach Director - Instructions/Responsibilities - Summer Ash
• Public Relations and Swag Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Summer Ash
• Visiting Group Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Summer Ash
• Design Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Summer Ash
• Harlem Sidewalk Astronomy Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Bryan Terrazas
• Family Astro Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Emir Karamehmetoglu
• Roof Committee - Instructions/Responsibilities - Christine Simpson and Adrian Price-Whelan
• Multimedia Officer - Instructions/Responsibilities - Rachel Thomas

Overview of Activities

Public Lectures and Stargazing Nights

We try to do a stargazing session every two weeks on the roof. Each stargazing night is coupled with an astronomy talk and a slideshow or two. The talk & slideshows are especially worthwhile when the sky is cloudy, which is usually the case (less than half of the nights are clear from NYC). Traditionally it has been Friday nights; however, transient events like eclipses, transits, and comets demand alternative scheduling.

These are a lot of fun when the weather cooperates. Turnout is typically around 100-200 people - a mixture of Columbia students (15%), local families (20%), and amateur astronomers (5%) and interested adults from the community (60%). At a recent event we took an informal poll of the attendees and determined that only 25% of them were affiliated with the University, meaning that 75% of our audience is from the general public as a whole (great news)! Furthermore, 25% of our audience is coming from outside of Manhattan, which surprised us all.

Lectures typically last 30 minutes, and stargazing follows that for another 1.5 hours or so. We try to offer slideshows (essentially mini-lectures) concurrently with the stargazing so that people can cycle between the various stations and get more out of the event (or get a respite from the cold).

Our volunteer staff consists almost entirely of graduate students, although we have a few undergrads and postdocs who make occasional appearances. We currently have a healthy core of observing volunteers, but it's always good to have different faces, so sign up (or just show up to see what it's like)! If you are unfamiliar with our equipment, training sessions with the veterans can be arranged.

Here is a list of instructions/responsibilities for the various roles associated with Public Lecture and Stargazing Nights. If you are signed up for a given role, you must know your responsibilities.

• Lecturer - 1 / event
• Lecture Captain - 1 / event
• Lecture Volunteer - 1 / event
• Roof Captain - 1 / event
• Roof Volunteer - 4 / event
• Wildcard - 1 / event

and here are some additional resources for planning/executing observing on the roof or activities after the lecture:

• Observational Resources
  
• Handy Astronomical Facts
  
• Slideshows
  

Science Fiction Film Series

In addition to our normal public lectures and stargazing, we sometimes offer science fiction film screenings. The idea is to show people astrophysically-themed films with varying amounts of fact and fiction. Each film is accompanied by a short lecture discussing the relevant science and fiction. As in all our Friday night events, we also offer observing if the weather cooperates. However, we don't open up the roof but just have our portable telescopes brought to College Walk or in front of Pupin.

These events begin with announcements by the Movie Captain, a brief 5-10 minute introduction to the film (along with relevant themes to look out for during the film, or the context in which the film was made or other interesting non-spoiler information). Then the film is shown in its entirety. After the film, the audience is invited to remain for the ~20 minute lecture on the relevant science in the film, as well as an informal (~30 minute) discussion between scientists and the audience. In addition, if the weather permits, we have telescopes set up outside of Pupin for audience members to look through on their way out. Since the films have varying durations, this event can take anywhere from 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours in total.

Our volunteer staff consists almost entirely of graduate students, although we have a few undergrads and a post-doc who make occasional appearances. We currently have a healthy core of observing volunteers, but it's always good to have different faces, so sign up (or just show up to see what it's like)! If you are unfamiliar with our equipment, training sessions with the veterans can be arranged.

Here is a list of instructions/responsibilities for the various roles associated with Public Lecture and Stargazing Nights. If you are signed up for a given role, you must know your responsibilities.

Movie Nights have a slightly different layout:

• Movie Captain - 1 / event
• Movie Volunteer - 1 / event
• Telescope Coordinator - 1 / event
• Telescope Volunteer - 3 / event

and here are some additional resources for planning/executing observing:

• Observational Resources
  
• Handy Astronomical Facts
  

Family Astro

We hold "Family Astro" days on a day each semester, on which 6-12 year-olds spend a few hours doing a hands-on activity in the library. Resources for planning the activity are on the web; for example: ​here). Aside from running the lesson for two hours or so, the volunteers need to get materials and snacks. It is a four-person job if there is a typical turnout of about 20 kids. Since that number can vary widely, it is useful to ask parents to sign up in advance.

Activities for Family Astro
Activities for Group Visitations
Slideshows

Group Visitations

We get frequent requests from school/scout/activity groups to come visit the department. We handle these on a case-by-case basis, but generally all groups get a tour of the observatory, observing and some sort of lesson administered by our volunteer graduate students. Events typically last 1-2 hours and are attended by 10-30 people.

Activities for Family Astro
Activities for Group Visitations
Slideshows

Sidewalk Astronomy on 125th St in Harlem

We take our portable telescopes out on 125th St to engage the public on their turf. We carry one/two 6" Dobsonians to the Adam Clayton Powell Plaza (7th Ave) and 125th St on clear evenings. Sky lights are bright, but from here we have a good view of the ecliptic, Orion, Taurus, etc. Observation of deep-sky objects is difficult, but one can get great views of the first-quarter moon and planets. Very rewarding with ~100 people stopping to look through the telescopes per hour.

Educational Material Giveaways

After writing to the EPO officers for several NASA space telescopes, we've received an abundance of outreach materials including posters, pins, pictures, CDs, bookmarks, trading cards, etc. We give these away at our events depending on supplies.

AstroWall Events

There is a stereoscopic projection system (ie 3D pictures and movies) installed in the classroom (Pupin 1332) that is relatively easy to set up and use. It includes a wide range of astronomical datasets from stars to the cosmos and has been used for a number of public outreach and education activities (including some Public Lecture Nights). For more information and training, please see Greg Bryan and read its wiki entry.

Rooftop Variables

A new outreach program entitled Rooftop Variables began in October 2008. Spearheaded by Marcel Agueros and funded by a Chandra grant, this program pairs graduate students with motivated high school science teachers from around New York City. The program provides the teachers with an 6" telescope and a CCD camera for use with their science students with the aim of starting an astronomy club at each respective school. Furthermore, the grads mentor the teachers in proper use of the equipment and teach them how to make variable star observations (as per ​http://www.aavso.org) so the teachers are actively contributing to the scientific community. (Variable stars are an area where the amateur community has a huge impact on observing programs). If you'd like to learn more or potentially volunteer, Rooftop Variables has its own website at: ​http://rv.astro.columbia.edu.

Middle School Program

The middle school program is designed to bring astronomy, in particular galaxies, into classrooms throughout New York City through presentations by Columbia astronomers. The presentation currently available is called, 'A Day in the Life of an Astronomer', and follows an astronomer to an observatory and discusses the light detected and the nature of the observed galaxies. The program is interactive throughout and includes numerous pictures and movies of galaxies, astronomers observing, and the basics of light and gravity. The students also receive a 'kit', including a diffraction grating, a pencil to demonstrate gravity, and a galaxy picture. An additional program entitled, 'Our Place in the Milky Way', is being developed that will involve flying from New York City to the outskirts of our Galaxy. The program began visiting schools in 2008 and has already reached over 500 6th grade students. Please contact mputman@… if you are interested in this program. It will also be available in Spanish in the next academic year.

365 Days of Astronomy Podcasts

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a project that will publish one podcast per day, 5 to 10 minutes in duration, for all 365 days of 2010 (in continuation from 2009). The podcast will be made available through an RSS feed. The podcast episodes will be written, recorded and produced by people around the world. Interested volunteers can contribute their podcasts by contacting Cameron Hummels who can get you in touch with the organizers. ​http://365daysofastronomy.org/

Summary of Completed Outreach Activities

• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013

Past Stargazing Dates

Clear nights are underlined.

2006: Sep 22, Sep 29, Oct 20, Oct 27, Nov 17, Dec 15

2007: Jan 19, Jan 26, Feb 23, Mar 3, Mar 23, April 20, June 22, Jul 19, Aug 17, Sep 14, Oct 14, Oct 19, Nov 2, Nov 16, Nov 30, Dec 14

2008: Feb 1, Feb 15, Feb 20, Feb 29, Mar 14, Mar 28, Apr 11, April 25, May 9, May 30, Jun 13, Jun 27, Jul 11, Jul 25, Aug 8, Aug 22, Sep 5, Sep 19, Oct 3, Oct 10, Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 21, Dec 5

2009: Jan 16, Jan 30, Feb 13, Feb 27, Mar 6, Mar 20, Apr 3, Apr 17, May 1, May 15, May 29, Jun 12, Jun 26, Jul 10, July 24, Aug 14, Aug 28, Sep 18, Sep 25, Oct 9, Oct 23, Nov 6, Nov 20, Dec 4

2010: Jan 22, Feb 5, Feb 19, March 5, March 26, Apr 9, Apr 23, May 7, Jun 6, Jun 19, Jul 2, Jul 16, Jul 30, Aug 13, Sep 3, Sep 17, Oct 15, Oct 29, Nov 12, Dec 3, Dec 17

2011: Jan 14, Jan 28, Feb 11, Feb 25, Mar 11, Mar 25, Apr 8, Apr 22, May 6, May 27, Jun 10, Jun 24, Jul 8, Jul 22, Aug 5, Aug 19, Sep 2, Sep 30, Oct 7, Oct 21, Nov 4, Nov 18, Dec 2

2012: Feb 3, Feb 17, Mar 2, Mar 16, Mar 30, Apr 13, Apr27, May 11, Jun 1, Jun 15, Jun 29, Aug 10, Aug 24, Sep 14, Sep 28, Oct 5, Oct 19, Nov 16, Nov 30, Dec 14

2013: Feb 1, Feb 15, Mar 1, Mar 15

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Media Coverage

Increasingly, our events have gotten media coverage.

• ​May 15, 2008 - ''Time Out Kids Magazine'' reviews astronomical opportunities for children in New York City
• ​Aug 20, 2008 - ''Time Out Magazine'' interviews Kathryn Stanonik before her August 2008 lecture
• ​October 25, 2008 - ''The New York Post'' highlights our stargazing nights as a way for New Yorkers to reduce stress
• ​March 12, 2009 - Columbia University's ''The Record'' reviews our public lecture series and the history behind the observatory
• ​April 3, 2009 - Columbia University's News Site covers our 100 Hours of Astronomy Events
• ​April 7, 2009 - Night Sky Network features our 100 Hours of Astronomy efforts
• ​Spring 2009 - Columbia Magazine described our January 30th Stargazing and Public Lecture by Taka Tanaka
• ​April 28, 2009 - Columbia University's ''Blue and White'' discusses how our observatory is being blocked by the Interdisciplinary Science Building
• ​May 13, 2009 - Columbia University's News Site covers Astronomy Outreach
• ​May 21, 2009 - Brian Lehrer Interviews Cameron for Columbia's Astronomy
• ​September 30, 2009 - Columbia University's The Spectator covers the increasing effects of light pollution on the Astronomy Department from the adjacent Interdisciplinary Science Building
• ​October 5, 2009 - Columbia University's Blue and White covers the "From Earth to the Universe" astrophotography exhibit on Columbia's campus
• ​October 5, 2009 - Columbia University's The Spectator covers the "From Earth to the Universe" astrophotography exhibit on Columbia's campus
• ​October 14, 2009 - Columbia University's The Spectator prints a letter to the Editor on why the Astronomy Department's view of the sky is important
• ​October 18, 2009 - Columbia University's The Spectator discusses some philosophical musings on our place in the Universe after having witnessed the "From Earth to the Universe" astrophotography exhibit on Columbia's campus
• ​October 27, 2009 - The Village Voice investigates some of the difficulties one encounters doing astronomy from NYC
• ​January 28, 2010 - WPIX interviews Dr. Joshua Goldston Peek for their human interest story: "Reported UFO Sighting In Brooklyn"
• ​March 28, 2010 - Columbia University's The Spectator reports on our public outreach night interviewing graduate students Erika Hamden and Yuan Li as well as undergraduate Ian Allen
• ​December 21, 2010 - The New York Times had a photographer present at our total lunar eclipse event. His photography from our site was featured twice.
• ​December 21, 2010 - NPR's The Takeaway discussed the total lunar eclipse with Cameron Hummels and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
• ​December 24, 2010 - The New York Times talks about the total lunar eclipse event at Columbia.
• ​February 11, 2012 - CBS local affiliate includes Columbia in NYC’s 5 Best Places & Events For Science Lovers.
• ​March 26, 2011 - The New York Times Nocturnalist blogger writes about the emotional response to our public lectures and stargazing events.
• ​May 20, 2012 - CBS local affiliate includes Columbia in NYC’s 6 Best Stargazing Spots.
• ​May 31, 2012 - The Rachel Maddow Show blog covers the transit of Venus with Summer Ash and Columbia's outreach plans.
• ​June 5, 2012 - The New York Times covers local viewing opportunities for the transit of Venus.
• ​June 5, 2012 - Gothamist includes Columbia's locations in the Best Places To Watch Transit Of Venus In NYC.
• ​June 5, 2012 - EnStarz mentions Columbia in their post on Places to Watch Planet Venus Passing the Sun.
• ​June 5, 2012 - CBS local affiliate films Columbia's transit of Venus event in Harlem and interviews Cameron Hummels.
• ​June 5, 2012 - Newsday covers the transit of Venus event at one of Columbia's participating Rooftop Variable schools in New Rochelle.
• ​January 17, 2013 - Time Out NY's Winter Survival Guide includes stargazing at Columbia.
• ​January 22, 1013 - Filmmaker Mark Harris interviews Summer Ash about astronomy outreach as part of an interactive film screening at Lincoln Center Film Society.
• ​March 2, 2013 - Munier Salem and Summer Ash support astrophotography exhibit at Brooklyn gallery, Grumpy Bert.

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Awards

APPLAUSE

In order to recognize the outstanding work done by our speakers, we created an award for the best public outreach talk of the year. Votes are taken by members of the department who attended at least 3 lectures. Award criteria are:

• Interesting topic
• Content effectively conveyed
• Fluidity of presentation

We are happy to call this the APPLAUSE Award (Award for Pupin Public Lecture in Astronomy for Universal Science Education), which is awarded with a congratulatory bottle of champagne. Below is our list of past winners:

2008 - Maria Pereira: ''The Colors of Life: Astrobiology through Newton's Prism''

2009 - Three-way tie! Kyle Parfrey: ''Astrophysics at the LHC, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Microscopic Black Holes'', Jana Grcevich: ''Science vs. Fiction in Science Fiction'', and Cameron Hummels: ''Will the World End in 2012?''

2010 - Josh Peek: ''Outer Space!''

2011 - Daniel D'Orazio ''The Truth About Black Holes''

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Todo List for Improving Outreach Events

• Find new roof for observing since Pupin will soon be blocked by new science building in the West. Also make sure roof has lecture hall adjacent to it. Carman/Lerner? --Cameron
• Add more photos to Webpage. --Destry
• Make more slideshows (telescopes, eclipses, meteor shower viewing, aurorae, etc.) --Everyone