Astronomy Day 2003

The River Bend Astronomy Club tried something new this year. We held Astronomy Day at the Children's Museum in Edwardsville, Illinois. It proved our most successful event yet, with more than 75 people showing up and several new members added; however, we did have our doubts less than an hour before the event kicked off.

Members met at the Children's Museum at 8:30 a.m. to begin setting up. It had been raining earlier that morning and there was a threat of rain for the next couple of hours. It was decided to set up all of the indoor exhibits and hold off on the outdoor telescopes until the rain chances had diminished. About 9 a.m. members noted a very dark band of clouds spanning the western horizon. Tornado sirens began sounding shortly thereafter from the north half of Edwardsville. As they continued their wail, we stood on the porch of the museum and watched the sky. The sirens stopped shortly before 9:15 a.m. Just a few minutes later, club member Mark Brown yelled, "It's a tornado!" We all looked toward the west and saw two prominent tubes extending from the overhead clouds to the tree line. The two tubes gently wrapped around each other and slowly moved toward the south. Shortly thereafter the sirens began sounding for the southern half of Edwardsville. The funnel cloud caused no damage and probably lasted about one or two minutes.

Attendance was low for the first couple of hours, but picked up around noontime when we unveiled a special image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The River Bend Astronomy Club and the Children's Museum were proud to be one of only 22 sites in all of North America to unveil this image as part of Astronomy Day's 30th anniversary. Interestingly, the sky cleared shortly thereafter and we were able to start some of the outdoor activities.

Overall, we had a number of educational activities for everyone:

• A telescope was set up near the front steps of the museum that tracked the sun and offered a safe view of our nearest star.


• A light pole from the baseball field next door was converted into a giant sundial by club member Jamie Goggin.


• A planet walk, created by club member Ed Cunnius, was set up which surrounded an entire block.


• A planet coloring station.


• A telescope exhibit.


• A computer was set up which ran several multi-media presentations created by club member Mark Brown. These offered a history of the space program and even a tribute to the Columbia astrononauts who died on February 1.

Not only was the club very happy to have received dozens of prizes to be given away on Astronomy Day (click here to see a list of organizations), but the dozens of winners were happy as well. The prizes included magazine subscriptions, club memberships, books, posters, calendars, lithograph sets, and even a telescope. Of course, the telescope was the big prize of the day and it went to a very excited boy named Sam Watts (see picture below). His mother told us the smile he displayed upon being announced the winner was among the biggest she has ever seen.

The tornado sighting turned out to be big news for St. Louis reporters chasing the storm. Television station KMOV sent a reporter and cameraman to talk to Mark Brown.

The first two hours of the program were a bit slow because of the weather. This gave club members some time to gawk at Jace Perham's new 15-inch Obsession. From left to right, Gary Kronk, Kurt Sleeter, and Jamie Goggin look at the new telescope.

While it was still raining outside, everyone gathered around the hourly prize giveaways. In this picture, Mark Brown presents a prize.

The unveiling of the new Hubble Space Telescope image occurred at noon. Museum director Christy Tinney and club president Gary Kronk lifted the cloth.

The skies cleared shortly after noon, as evidenced by the large sundial set up on the ground. The green marker is for 12:00.

As the concrete dries, people gather around the front steps of the Children's Museum to safely observe the sun through a telescope, as well as talk to club members.

Gary Kronk stands by as one boy takes his first look at the sun through a telescope.

The prize everyone had been waiting for throughout the day was the drawing for the telescope. The telescope was a 6-inch reflector that had been donated by Hardin Optical of Bandon, Oregon. And the winner was ... Sam Watts. From left to right, Mark Brown, Sam, and Christy Tinney.

The Children's Museum had been very cooperative with us from the beginning. They let us set up several displays inside, and even bought us pizza for lunch. At the end of the successful day Mark Brown announced that an anonymous club member was donating a telescope to the museum. In the picture above, Christy Tinney happily shows off the telescope.

At the end of the day, the six club members participating in this event gather for a group shot with the Hubble photograph.

View the flyer for the event (requires Adobe Acrobat)