by Gene Allen, (semi-vacant) Chair

Well, I cannot do that again! During Jun, July and August, there were 6 requests for Outreach Events. During September and October, there were 12. It is painfully apparent that I cannot spend a month touring in Europe in the fall without designating a substitute or adding a co-chair. I am not yet fully caught up.

The REI Campout in Hopewell was slipped two weeks to September 29 and AAAP participation was organized by new member and Event Lead Jeffrey Pinyan. From everything I read of his preparations it certainly sounds as if he did a most professional job. He was well supported by Dave Reis,Tim Donney, and Dave Skitt, and together they earned rave reviews. REI Coordinator Kathleen Witman shared this with Jeff, and copied me:
“I want to thank you and the other club members for an incredible evening under the stars at Cedar Ridge Preserve this past weekend and for being so flexible with our rescheduled date. Your program added so much interest and education to our campout! We received a lot of positive feedback from campers, including this one:
‘…the Princeton Telescope guys…uh!!! They were nothing short of AMAZING!!!!!! We saw …2 shooting stars! MARS , SATURN, JUPITER!!!!'”

In Paris, I was able to receive an email sent Thursday making a last minute request to open the observatory on Saturday night, September 22. I passed it off immediately to Dave Skitt, and he rang the bell. Hearty souls Jen Skitt, Ted Frimet and Amit and Athena Basu rose to the challenge and made it happen for the boys of the Princeton Academy.

On his own, Dave again stepped up to make another Saturday night work, this time for Hopewell Cub Scouts and parents. On October 13, about 50 folks were hosted at the observatory by Dave and Jen, Amit & Athena, Tom Swords, and Tim Gong and Luisa Villani-Gong. Once again, kudos to those members meeting Outreach challenges.

An evening stargazing program for the Masquerade Ball of D&R Greenway on October 27 was in the planning stages when it was cancelled due to impending showers.

We have three First Lego League robotic competition teams seeking support, although from what I can see of that program, our amateur and observational bent does not seem to offer much value. Other requests are for more classroom level support, which we have not provided recently. Another summary request for Outreach support will be coming to your mailbox soon! If anyone has any ideas about how to do Outreach better (other than replacing myself during absences, which I already acknowledge!), I’m all ears.