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Kathleen - Rod, thank you for agreeing to come online with us tonight to talk about astronomy education and your StarDogs Astronomy program. Would you tell us about your background, including any formal training you've had in this field?
StarDog - Well, hello to everyone and I'm glad to be a part of this time with you. My background in astronomy is nearly all self-taught and through many areas of teaching different subjects in various retail jobs over the years, I've combined that astronomy love with loving to teach and it seems to work very well.
Kathleen - When did you develop your strong interest in astronomy?
StarDog - About 15 years ago, when helping my wife through her nursing courses, I spent a lot of time in the library and refamiliarized myself with a childhood love.
Kathleen - Do people ever confuse you with a astrologer? :-)
StarDog - She then bought a pair of binoculars for my bitrthday as I had told her that I would like to find some things in the sky using binoculars as suggested in a book. Yes...to your question..all the time!!
Kathleen - In addition to the binoculars, what other equipment do you own?
StarDog - But I use their confusion as an opportunity to teach them more about astronomy as opposed to astrology. I also have for equipment, two large telescopes both with 13" mirrors. and my planetarium equipment.
Kathleen - Have you made "pilgrimages" to the big telescope sites? If so, which and what was it like
StarDog - No pilgrimages as yet, only to a couple of regional smaller scopes , one at Michigan State and one in Pennsylvania.
StarDog - But that is on my agenda.
Kathleen - What can you see with your 2 large telescopes with 13 inch mirrors?
StarDog - With a telescope that has a 13" mirror, one can easily see globular clusters of stars...
StarDog - Other galaxies,
Kathleen - Can the average binoculars help us see anything interesting in the night sky?
StarDog - and vast nebulae complexes as well as double stars thousands of light years away.
StarDog - With binoculars....
StarDog - one is usually very surprised at what they immediately see for the first time.....Thousands, literally thousands of stars they have never seen before!
StarDog - With some practice
StarDog - one can train their eyes to see some globular clusters of stars, nebulae and even very easily, colors of various stars.
Kathleen - StarDog, Who is your hero in the field of astronomy and why?
StarDog - My hero in astronomy....? Hmmmm...?
StarDog - Many to choose from...
StarDog - I liked Clyde Tombaugh's tenacity in his search for the Planet Pluto in the early part of this century.
Kathleen - Whom should children read about for information and inspiration in the field (other than you, of course;-)
Kathleen - Carl Sagan?
StarDog - Another hero would be Terrance Dickinson...He's written a lot of very helpful books for amateurs.
Kathleen - Do some planetariums have better reputations than others?
StarDog - Yes, some planetariums have newer computer driven and optical equipment that makes for a much more realistic presentation and they can do amazing things with what would appear to the viewer to be taking a trip through our galaxy. It's really neat!
Kathleen - StarDog,What are your favorite publications in the field? Are you aware of any appropriate for elementary school age children?
Jay - Can you recommend a planetarium in Eastern Canada?
StarDog - My favorite publications are Sky and Telescope and Astronomy Magazine
StarDog - These two magazines have info where one can find articles and publications for children.
StarDog - I also have some online links to childrens sites and publications if anyone wants me to e-mail them some links.
StarDog - Jay, I have a listing for all the planetariums in North America and if you will e-mail me I will get that for you. My e-mail is sdogastro@aol.com
StarDog - My website will be up and running by week's end. Finally.
Charelle - StarDog, how many children can you serve at any given session?
StarDog - Charelle, I can take up to 30 kids at a time in the planetarium. I have taken more, but I prefer to do a classroom at a time because that helps the teacher maintain familiar discipline with his/her own class
Carol - I would like to remember the constellations and other facts more. Is there a publication that can help me to remember them? Most books go in one ear and out the other!
StarDog - Carol...one publication that is very helpful is the Sky Calendar put out by Abrams Planetarium from Michigan State Universty.I have the address, hold on.
StarDog - Sky Calendar, Abrams Planetarium Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824
StarDog - This is a monthly publication and they send them to you 3 months at a time 4 times a year.
Kathleen - StarDog, you have a program that includes a portable planetarium. Tell us about what ages of students you accommodate, what topics you cover. And tell us about your planetarium:-)
StarDog - The Programs in the planetarium cover basic astronomy concepts for young elem. students , up to facts of required science curricullum for middle school students
StarDog - Some of the programs are..Skylook 101
StarDog - this deals with the first things a young Kindergartner and first grader would be able to recognize in the sky
StarDog - another is The Planets...
StarDog - and this program we accomodate the information to meet the grade level, so we add to or delete depending on the grade.
StarDog - We have a Native American Sky presentation...
StarDog - that tells of legends from the Native people here
StarDog - One of the newest lessons is a cross cultural one called Follow the Drinking Gourd from the African -American Slaves in the 1800's
tina - do you hve any suggestions for teaching middle school learning disabled kids who have difficulty with spacial relations
StarDog - Tina...thanks for your question....yes i think..
tina - ok, i have the book & used it with 4th graders, it's excellent
StarDog - one thing I've seen is the more visual you can make your lesson...
tina - we have a space lab coming to the school which the kids enjoy, alittle scared it's my 1st time using it
StarDog - the easier it is for these kids to grasp the concept...that's true for anyone but especially important for the kids in question.
tina - are there any other books u could suggest
StarDog - Tina..so you are going to teach them the lesson in the StarLab?
Kathleen - When children visit your planetarium, is it a walk-through, or are they seated for a presentation?
tina - i'm going to try to
tina - we have it for a week
StarDog - Kathleen..they are seated and I even have the teachers help with that process.
StarDog - Tina what is your lesson going to be.?
Kathleen - StarDog, can it be set up both in and outdoors?
tina - they have to learn the different consolations and be able to identify them
StarDog - Kathleen, indoors only! It was trie outdoors but one time...It blew away. that was in New York and not by me!
StarDog - Tina...there is an excellent book by Chet Raymo called 365 Starry Nights. Has the constellations broken down month by month...
StarDog - and has many stories about them and also excellent directions on how to identify them.
tina - Do you know of any web sites which might be of use?
StarDog - Tina ...yes. If you will e-mail me, I'd be glad to send you many links!
StarDog - my e-mail is sdogastro@aol.com
Kathleen - StarDog, do you know what your url will be?
Kathleen - Would you type in all of your contact information so that people reading this transcript will be able to contact you if they are interested in having your program in their schools.
Sdog - I can be contacted at ..
Sdog - StarDogs Astronomy, Inc. 2225 Luwanna Dr. Lansing Mi 48910 800-595-2428 fax:517-393-3345 e-mail sdogastro@aol.com
Sdog - My web address will be
Sdog - www.ismi.net/stardogs
Sdog - Thanks for all the great questions and remember to look up not down. Clear Skies to all!
