Another successful Outreach Event at the Observatory

by Muhammad Basil Ahmad

On October 22nd, we hosted the Muslim Boys’ Club at the Hamilton Centre Obvervatory. The club organizes activities and field trips once a month for homeschooling fathers and sons (ages 6-12) from across the Greater Toronto Area.
The evening began with Ed Mizzi setting up a Dobsonian telescope to give everyone a breathtaking view of Venus and Saturn. Mars was also visible higher in the sky. I then presented slides and video about the solar system, constellations, galaxies, and telescopes. The boys enjoyed putting together their own cardboard planispheres and then heading outside to see what they had just learned (e.g., the Big Dipper).
With a beautiful clear sky, many fathers and sons stayed to enjoy the view, learn from Ed how to properly use binoculars, or watch Gary Bennett fix the 16″ Ritchey–Chrétien. There was so much interest and excitement generated about astronomy that another outreach event might be planned for those who could
not attend due to space limitations.

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