Planetarium website:
http://www.rhfleet.org
Personal website:
http://www.forward.to/music
The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater took delivery of a Digistar II.
Training starts In june. Plans are to re-install the classic childrens
Planetarium show "Night on Dream Mountain", as well as to start
production of new presentations for School shows and
Omnimax "preshows".The studio is now completely converted to
digital, with a Panasonic DA-7 mixing board and Alesis ADAT's.
We are planning to build a stand alone planetarium next to our
existing building.
Planetarium website:
http://www.rhfleet.org
Personal website:
http://www.forward.to/music
Not much to report. I continue to give shows for the school
groups (mostly 3rd and 5th grade classes) during the school year.
Summers I'm off. I would like to add automation to my current Spitz
A3P setup, but funding is too low. Have a good summer!
My website:
http://online.bc.cc.ca.us/sea/astronomy
Fleischmann Planetarium, along with a number of members of
the Northern Nevada community, has hired White Oak Associates to
prepare a Concept Development Plan for a new science center for
the area. The final report was finished in late June. White Oak
suggests that we should think about creation of a facility of about 81,000 SF,
including at least a new planetarium, a large-format movie theater,
exhibit galleries, gift shop, and food service. They suggest
that groundbreaking could occur in 2002, with completion of the
center in 2004. The Steering Committee in charge of the project will
now begin looking at fund-raising and site selection, and creation of a
strategic master plan. Planetarium staff members are doing their best
to avoid salivating too early.
Wish us luck!
Fleischmann website: http://www.scs.unr.edu/planet
I'm planning to spend a lot of time this Summer making better use
of the new ECCS control system, installed last Winter. This will
include an all-sky arrangement that should be a great addition to many of
our shows. Also, we recently purchased a number of new shows
that need to be adapted and installed for this Fall's show season.
The group field trips are slowing down now, and although I love
doing shows, I'm really looking forward to playing with the equipment
for a while.
Minolta Planetarium
De Anza College:
http://planetarium.fhda.edu
Websites: http://www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org/ and http://www.buhlplanetarium.org/ (Henry Buhl, Jr Planetarium & Observatory)
Astronomical Society of the PacificNew Web Pages
--Andy Fraknoi
An annotated catalog of 140 of the best hands-on astronomy (and space science) activities on the Web is now available as part of the education web pages of the non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
The catalog can be found at: http://www.aspsky.org/education/astroacts.html
Organized by topic in astronomy (from moon phases to cosmology), the catalog reviews each activity briefly, explaining what is involved and what grade range it is most appropriate for. Activities included come from NASA, science education reform projects, educational organizations, and individual astronomers. There is also a listing of 12 space-science activity books that can be downloaded from the Web in their entirety. The activities selected for listing are those that are most effective in giving students in grades K-12 a good inquiry-based experience in learning.
This catalog is part of a new compilation of astronomy education resources and activities called "More Universe at Your Fingertips", being published by the Society's Project ASTRO this spring. (Project ASTRO is a national program that establishes ongoing partnerships between professional or amateur astronomers and 4th - 9th grade in their communities. It is currently operating in 10 regional sites around the country.)
ASP education web site: http://www.aspsky.org/education.html
=============================================
One of the job involves teaching a lecture class and two laboratory sessions during the day (Mon, Tues, and Thur), the other involves teaching a lecture class and one laboratory session two evenings a week. Class size can vary from 60 to over 100 for the lectures, but is limited to 25 for the lab.
Foothill is on the quarter system and astronomy is taught in the winter (Jan-Mar), spring (Apr-Jun), and fall (Sep-Dec) quarters. Each quarter is 11 weeks long. The introductory course is Planetary Astronomy during the winter quarters, and Stellar and Galactic Astronomy during the spring and fall quarters. A syllabus and a series of laboratory exercises will be available.
Located on a beautiful hilltop site in the heart of Silicon Valley, Foothill College serves a diverse group of students, with widely ranging backgrounds, ages, and interests. Almost everyone taking the astronomy course is a non-science major who is there to meet general education requirements. Candidates should have an interest in and some experience with teaching such a group, whose facility with mathematics is almost non-existent, whose attention spans are short, and whose background in rudimentary science is often weak. On the other hand, most of the students are eager to learn and enjoy the focus on teaching, which is the main concern at Foothill.
Foothill has one of the best salary schedules for a community college. The instructor going on sabbatical will be available for consultation and orientation. For more information and an application package, e-mail Andrew Fraknoi at: fraknoi@admin.fhda.edu, or leave a message at 650-949-7288.
Foothill College Astronomy: http://www.foothill.fhda.edu/ast/astclass.htm
Andrew Fraknoi
Astronomy Department,
Foothill College
Tel (Mon - Thu): 650-949-7288
Tel (Fri): 415-337-1100 x 120
E-mail: fraknoi@admin.fhda.edu
My text: http://www.harcourtcollege.com/astro/fraknoi
