{"id":9040,"date":"2013-05-05T01:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-05-05T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/darkerview.com\/wordpress\/?p=9040"},"modified":"2013-05-04T22:36:29","modified_gmt":"2013-05-05T08:36:29","slug":"astroday-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/darkerview.com\/wordpress\/?p=9040","title":{"rendered":"AstroDay 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was fun. It is always fun!<\/p>\n

\"AstroDay<\/a>
AstroDay 2013!<\/figcaption><\/figure>It is AstroDay<\/a>, a chance for all of the observatories to do a little community outreach.<\/p>\n

Prince Kuhio Plaza<\/a> is the largest mall on the island. Perhaps small by large city standards it is still the focal point of shopping in Hilo. The observatories and a few other organizations use tables all through the branches of the mall. In the center of it all is a stage with live music, giveaways and other activities for the crowd. The whole thing is a great family day and a great outreach opportunity.<\/p>\n

Last time around the activity at the Keck table was astro-Haiku<\/a>. Not to malign poetry, some folks did write pretty good haiku<\/a>. We need something more engaging… Poetry just does not grab the kid’s attention. This time around I planned to have lasers!<\/p>\n

\"Lasers<\/a>
Families checking out our exhibits at the Keck tables during AstroDay 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>So it was an early start to make the hop across the island, arrival at 9am to setup the exhibits. Alan and David joined me to work the display for the first couple hours. It was busy right from the start, lots of families stopping by, attracted by the laser dancing on the ceiling.<\/p>\n

The laser spirograph<\/a> and laser ray trace tables<\/a> were setup and ready for the kids. The exhibits were dreamed up after last year’s AstroDay, this year they exist. Nothing like a little laser light to get things going. To this we added an exhibit Shui came up with for Keck open house, a camera and computer that manipulated the image using a green screen effect<\/a>, making it appear our guests were floating in space. From everything I saw the new exhibits were a big improvement to our display.<\/p>\n

After spending my shift on the booth I turned things over to our relief crew and headed out to see the rest of AstroDay. I stopped by and chatted with so many of the folks I know, catching up on news and checking out their exhibits. <\/p>\n