Message from CFHT Librarian, Liz Bryson:
CFHT Community Outreach Recent Past Events January 22nd, 2010: CFHT took part in the Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Science Day celebration, at the University of Hawaii, Hilo campus from 8am to 3pm. Lunch was provided for all registered students provided by American Savings Bank. We look forward to next years event. February 16th, 2010: CFHT provided several of our staff members as judges to the Science Fair at Kohala Middle School in Kapaau. The science fair began at 3pm. February 19th, 2010: CFHT sent a few staff members to the East Hawaii District Science Fair in Hilo at the Imiloa Astronomy Center. The science fair exhibits were displayed from February 16-25th in the Moanahoku Hall and viewing the exhibits was free of charge. March 4th, 2011: CFHT staff astronomers took a group of students from Punahou High School on a tour of the observatory. April 23rd, 2011: CFHT had a booth at the 12th Annual Healthy KeikiFest at Parker Ranch Center from 10am to 1 pm. We had our telescope and sunspotter pointed for viewing of the many sunspots and children were invited to color a constellation or to ask an astronomer a question. Parker Ranch Store provided T-shirts for the Keiki for a completed passport. May 7th, 2011: CFHT had a booth at AstroDay at the Prince Kuhio Mall in Hilo from 10am to 4pm. We had an optical demonstration, a spectrograph, and constellation viewing from different places in our galaxy. 
Click on the images above to see an enlargement.
Upcoming Events May 13th, 2011: CFHT will be sending some astronomers to the Star Gazing Party at Kealakehe High School which will be starting at sunset - weather permitting. Amateur and professional astronomers will be setting up telescopes on the practice field. The party may be moved to Waikoloa Middle School, or called off due to weather by 1pm. July 23rd, 2011: CFHT will take part in the Relay for Life put on by the American Cancer Society. We will be setting up a booth jointly with Keck and walking through the night. It will be held at the Anderson Arena (mile marker 51) on the E side of Waimea near the golf course. We hope to be selling refreshments and baked goods. September, 2011: Sometime the end of September, CFHT and Keck observatories will host the Solar System Tour, set up along the main street in Waimea from Keck to CFHT office buildings. Each booth will have information about each planet and students will be rewarded at the end of the tour with refreshments. This will be updated with the date once it has been decided.
CFHT's Artist in Residence Program Astronomy takes a fun turn when Colleen McLaughlin Barlow visited CFHT for a month as an Artist in Residence. She received a great deal of visual stimulation and inspiration for her own artwork, and engaged the staff in some wonderful art experiences, including: Sumi-e (Japanese ink brush painting of classic characters), Shodo (Large scale sumi-e), Cyanotype Sun Printing (using our own nearest star to make art prints), and Continous Landscape (five people divide a 360 degree view and draw it continuously in five booklets). Read more about her own art experience in her report to our executive director. 
Since it may be a while before Colleen gets her artwork online at her website, we are showing some of her work above, as well as some of the things staff members did during her stay with us. Click on the image above to see an enlargement of the artwork. Sidereal and Solar Time Simulator The University of Nebraska - Lincoln has put together a wonderful website which has many useful tools for teaching science. Any teacher will find these very useful for showing why we have seasons, how astronomer calculate time for observations, and many other things. Check out the 2 links below. Sidereal and Solar Time Calculator Big Dipper Clock Again from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln we have another wonderful demonstration of estimating the time of year using the Big Dipper. This is one of the most recognized constellations in the sky adn here you see how it moves during the year and helps you to estimate time. Class Action This is the general view of all the teaching modules written at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. We hope that you find it useful in your classroom for teaching the basic concepts of Astronomy and Space science. One Minute Astronomer This is a great website that will help you build your knowledge and apreciation of astronomy, one small step at a time. This website is written by Brian Ventrudo who has a Ph.d. in Applied Physics, and lives in Ottawa, Canada. He has a collection of star maps on his page as well as great short little articles about specific objects in the sky. Major NASA Milestones Early May was a very special anniversary for the United States Space Program. NASA celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Launch of Alan B. Sheppard into space, making him the first American in space. Though his flight was quite short, it was only the first step to puting a man on the moon, just 8 years later. Also we have one of the last space shuttle launches taking place this month. NASA has rescheduled the Endeavour to launch on May 16th. Check out the following articles. Astronaut Honored at 50th Anniversary Happy Birthday Neptune! Neptune was discovered on September 23rd, 1846 by Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory assisted by his student Louis D'Arrest, so typically this is the day one would celebrate Neptune's discovery. However, on July 27, at 12:27pm (HST) we can celebrate Neptune's first full orbit since its discovery. In Neptune years, the planet becomes 1 neptune year old. Uranus celebrated its first full orbit since discovery in 1865. Our demoted minor planet Pluto will not complete its first orbit since discovery until 2178. This is quite a rare event so celebrate by making your own model or have a Neptune party! Neptune's First Orbit Complete Upcoming Astronomical Events
All times listed above are HST unless otherwise indicated. The link below contains many calendars and includes a nice section on astronomical events. Check it out!
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