by David W. Letcher, Outreach Chair

The Sun Team of “The Three Davids” took advantage of a pleasant, mostly clear day at the Super Science Saturday on May 7, 2011 to show a small group of sunspots to a large group of folks who attended the event at the State Museum.  David Letcher, David Kaplan, and David Zahler represented the AAAP that day.

The morning was quite clear but as the hours passed by, increasing clouds prevented us from seeing the sun.  But we had fun and lots of parents and children got to see some sunspots.

Let’s hope that we have some clear nights for our upcoming open houses.  To that end we expect to have a cub scout troop visit the observatory on Friday evening, June 17^th.  We’ll probably have about 50 scouts and parents show up.

Another opportunity for outreach has arisen. An email from Dr. Donald Lubowich, the Coordinator of Astronomy Outreach, for Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York indicates he is applying for a NASA-sponsored education and public outreach grant to fund telescope observations and astronomy demonstrations at the Ronald McDonald Houses within 200 miles of NYC.  If this grant is approved, it would provide all of the funding pay for telescopes, posters, astronomy demonstrations, astronomy videos, etc.

He would like to invite any interested clubs in the NJ, PA, or DE regions to participate in this program.   It will involve a few outreach programs,  assisting with the training of the RMH staff, and being available to help with questions. There would be a small stipend of $500 to reimburse the clubs for any travel expenses.

On May 25, Director Ludy D’Angelo responded to Dr. Lubowich by saying “On behalf of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP), we are very interested to participate in these activities. Good luck with the grant. Let us know when we can help.”