Hamilton RASC was given a great opportunity this month to work with gifted students at a school in Oakville. For four full days, Nov. 21, 23, 24, and 29, Ed Mizzi did Outreach with the students at St. Andrew School. Bob Prociuk joined Ed on the mornings of Nov. 21 and 23 and helped with this exciting program.
The grades 6/7 and 5/6 gifted classes, taught by Ms. Degenhardt and Mr. Smith respectively, were treated to a variety of slide shows, hands-on activities and visual observation and fun was had by all, including Ed and Bob.
On Nov. 21, Bob and Ed took the grades 6 and 7 class outside for a look at the waning Gibbous Moon through both the club’s 8” Dobsonian telescope and binoculars. They also invited the students to look at the Sun through the scope (with solar filter) and solar glasses and many wows and oohs were heard. They also taught the students in both classes how to use Star Finders for finding objects in the night sky.
Ed and Bob also quizzed the students with questions about our Solar System, the Milky Way 
and the Universe and were pleasantly surprised at how much the kids knew. Many students also had questions and comments that were discussed by all.
Ed shared s
lide shows on Relative Sizes of objects both in our Solar System and beyond, the Moon and Black Holes, but the most interesting conversation revolved around the topic of extraterrestrial, intelligent life and whether we would ever meet other beings beyond our home, the Earth.
Bob and Ed encourage others to do Outreach (adults and children alike) as it is very rewarding and a lot of fun and the great feeling of sharing knowledge with others is well worth the time and effort.
Ed is willing to share his slide shows with others and provide tips and guidance to anyone and everyone.
Please watch the Forum for announcements of upcoming Outreach events and do not hesitate to initiate your own events and post them.
