I wasn't impressed with the R&T vaudeville routine and I think we need to keep clear that we are an astronomy club, not a high school physics class. I don't know that there are a lot of aspects of astronomy that can be demonstrated on stage other than the simplest facts, like moon phases. I would rather learn something about galaxies that see somebody demonstrate that dry ice can deflate a balloon. -- Joe ------------------------------ On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 7:44 AM MDT Chuck Hards wrote:
Anybody who has ever seen professors Ragsdale and Driscoll at the U give the annual Faraday lecture knows how enjoyable and interesting a science demo can be. Chemistry in this case. I saw it many times and knew what to expect from the demonstrations, but it was so much fun that it was never a letdown. Those two had their routine down pat, and worked well off each other. They could have done vaudeville.
Alas, the pair retired from the lectures in 2004 and I think some new faculty are doing them now, but those two left some big shoes to fill.
On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com>wrote:
Yes, demos would be great. Maybe someone from U of U Physics could present something.
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Long ago, in the early 90s, when Wayne Sumner and I gave away telescopes to schools, I demonstrated retrograde motion in a SLAS meeting. It involved setting everyone in a large circle and then replicating a portion of the solar system. I still believe that helped people understand why there is retrograde motion.
That's cool. Our Education Dept folks do something very similar to that every time they do a teacher training, and it absolutely works to help make the subject clear to people who, while comprehending the words in the textbook, are nonetheless a bit fuzzy on the geometry. When they participate in the "human solar system" they have no problem understanding retrograde motion. There's actually a whole school of thought on the subject of teaching astronomy by getting people out of their chairs and moving around the room - it's called "kinesthetic" astronomy education. The teachers we work with all think it's awesome. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Brent Watson Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:19 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Replicating a hissing meteor Long ago, in the early 90s, when Wayne Sumner and I gave away telescopes to schools, I demonstrated retrograde motion in a SLAS meeting. It involved setting everyone in a large circle and then replicating a portion of the solar system. I still believe that helped people understand why there is retrograde motion. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
Seth, in SLAS, we have lots of candidates for Jupiter, and some for Mercury, Pluto, and Mars. Not a lot in between. ;-) On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 1:48 PM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
When they participate in the "human solar system" they have no problem understanding retrograde motion.
LOL! On Mar 26, 2013 3:44 PM, "Larry Holmes" <larry@kijoda.com> wrote:
Chuck, the ones in between mostly inhabit the Congressional Office Bldg. 73
On 3/26/2013 1:57 PM, Chuck Hards wrote:
Seth, in SLAS, we have lots of candidates for Jupiter, and some for Mercury, Pluto, and Mars. Not a lot in between. ;-)
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On 26 Mar 2013, at 15:42, Larry Holmes wrote:
Chuck, the ones in between mostly inhabit the Congressional Office Bldg. 73
Or maybe the guy who wrote this letter to yesterday's Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56041564-82/women-conference-woman-apri... No, now that I think about it he's so far out he's beyond the known planets. patrick
On 3/26/2013 1:57 PM, Chuck Hards wrote:
Seth, in SLAS, we have lots of candidates for Jupiter, and some for Mercury, Pluto, and Mars. Not a lot in between. ;-)
Brent, We used the same demo teaching the teachers as well. I remember you pointing a flashlight at my shiny head as we walked in circles while everyone watched my shadow go backwards on the walls behind me. Good memories! -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Brent Watson Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:19 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Replicating a hissing meteor Long ago, in the early 90s, when Wayne Sumner and I gave away telescopes to schools, I demonstrated retrograde motion in a SLAS meeting. It involved setting everyone in a large circle and then replicating a portion of the solar system. I still believe that helped people understand why there is retrograde motion. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
So much for getting the younger set interested. Pretty gray at meetings lately, I've noticed. You're just jealous because they looked better in a tux than you, Joe. ;-) On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com>wrote:
I wasn't impressed with the R&T vaudeville routine and I think we need to keep clear that we are an astronomy club, not a high school physics class. I don't know that there are a lot of aspects of astronomy that can be demonstrated on stage other than the simplest facts, like moon phases. I would rather learn something about galaxies that see somebody demonstrate that dry ice can deflate a balloon. -- Joe
participants (7)
-
Brent Watson -
Chuck Hards -
Joe Bauman -
Larry Holmes -
Patrick Wiggins -
Seth Jarvis -
Wayne Sumner