Stargazing enthusiasts and eager young minds came together at the Cambridge Public Library last Wednesday for a night dedicated to the celestial wonders. The Community Astronomy Night, a collaboration between the Cambridge STEAM Initiative and local educational institutions, welcomed families to engage in hands-on activities and star-spotting, albeit indoors due to overcast skies. The event featured the construction of Galileoscopes, allowing participants a glimpse into the same cosmic views that once captivated Galileo, as reported by the City of Cambridge's official website.
Cloudy weather notwithstanding, the astronomy buffs were determined not to let the enthusiasm dampen. They built copies of 400-year-old telescopes to eye the moon's craters and Jupiter's moons. In addition, attendees crafted Planispheres to navigate and identify the constellations, and prepared for the upcoming Solar Eclipse on April 6 by snagging safety "eclipse glasses." The interns from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian’s Science Research Mentoring Program, who were also Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) students, led the telescope-building workshop according to the guidance from CfA faculty.
The night's instructional endeavors were not solely for the enraptured youth; families took home skills and tools to augment their understandings of the cosmos. Planisphere construction and education were under the direction of Tal SebellShavit, defined by the City of Cambridge as a CRLS Physics and Astronomy teacher. Those planispheres became more than paper and plastic, turning into personal celestial guides for each attendee to bring the night sky down to earth.
In addition to astronomical hands-on activities, the Community Astronomy Night functioned as a showcase for the Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). High school interns engaged with real astrophysics research, enjoying the mentorship and knowledge from a CfA astrophysicist. The SRMP aims to bridge, throughout an academic year, the gap between textbook concepts and groundbreaking astronomical research, allowing students a deep dive into the world of science.
