[meteorite-list] Astronomy Day outreach

From: Linton Rohr <lintonius_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:49:00 -0700
Message-ID: <4712D5B4DA684931B88E3D4955BB6A9F_at_D190TH71>

Good day list,
One of my local astronomy clubs held an Astronomy Day event at the local
library yesterday. In addition to the usual evening star party, there were
afternoon presentations inside. Outside the entrance, I set up my solar
scope and a table full of meteorites. Along with the display cases, I had a
substantial sized NWA stone and a Gibeon iron for folks to hold onto and
examine. After all, my sign says "METEORITES - See and Touch Rocks from
Space!". I did try to keep the membrane-cased Esquell slice in my own grasp,
though. ;^)
I had several hundred visitors, mostly families, over the course of 5 hours.
The level of interest was quite high. Most of them (all?) had never seen a
meteorite before. I tried to explain to all the three main types, and then
go into other topics depending on what they seemed to be most interested
in. The Lunar and Martian box attracted a lot of attention. I told a lot of
hammer-tales as well, with Peekskill, Claxton, Sylacauga, New Orleans, Park
Forest, etc. on hand. The historic pieces, such as Weston, Ensisheim,
L'Aigle and Orgueil made for further conversation, for those with sufficient
attention span.
To my surprise, not a single person mentioned the Meteorite Men show.
I had a great time sharing my collection, my (limited, but growing)
knowledge, and stimulating young minds.
Linton
Received on Sun 25 Apr 2010 03:49:00 PM PDT