Author: Roland Roberts

The most recent issue of the National Science Teacher’s Association newspaper included information on some groups with fun science songs. Having just wasted, er, spent some time looking at music videos on YouTube and the artists’ web sites, I thought I’d share. Billy Brennen, aka BillyBSongAndDance, has four YouTube videos, three are from live performances, …

Bill B Science Song and DanceRead More

There is a great video piece at the New York Times, also linked by SELENE. It’s well done and to the point (did you expect anything else?) and particularly timely.  Oh, and don’t forget to turn off your lights, too.

I’m afraid that weather is not permitting, again The forecast is for 60% overcast starting around 5pm anc continuing through the night. According to accuweather.com, Saturday morning turns clear, with clouds increasing around 5pm again. So no stargazing. December is a tough time to schedule stargazing. The odds of good weather are lower than in …

CANCELLED – Stargazing at Shore Road ParkRead More

POSTPONED to Friday December 5th The weather forecast for tonight is completely overcast with snow showers likely. It may clear sometime between 8 and 10 pm, but between the cold and the late hour, we will not meet tonight. Tomorrow promises to be clear but bitterly cold with winds in the 15-20 mph range making …

POSTPONED: Stargazing at Shore Road ParkRead More

And this one is geeky instead of gamey. Er, I didn’t quite mean that it was stinky, but anyway… I first read about it in technical journal (I forget which one, they all sort of blur together in my aging brain), but apparently I’m behind the curve on this one (another sign of advancing age) …

Another Reason to Buy a WiiRead More

If you’re into geeky videos, you’ll find some at the AIP Journal Chaos YouTube site. Some of the videos are fascinating, like the one currently highlighted on their page, which shows thermal convection. Watching it is kind of like staring into the campfire, it’s mindless, but somehow soothing. If’ you’ve got a Lava lamp, the …

Geeky Physics VideosRead More

This lesson is s general introduction to astronomy including safe daytime observing. Our main class activity for the next month (yes, 4 weeks!) will be recording the appearance of the moon on every clear day possible. If your child misses a few days of observing, we will combine our observations in class. The star chart …

Session 1: IntroductionRead More

The fall 2008 session is just getting underweigh. The 4th and 5th grade sessions will be covering the same material although the in-class discussions may be a little different to accomodate the children’s specific questions and interests. The overall theme will be the solar system and we will survey the different parts comparing and contrasting …

Fall 2008Read More

This is information for members of the PS102 Astronomy Club and their families. The intent of this section is the provide access to the club meeting materials and additional resources to help your children learn more about astronomy and develop a general interest in science. For the 2008 spring session, I tried to put the …

PS 102 Astronomy ClubRead More

The moon, Jupiter nad Venus will all fit within a 4-degree circle tonight. With the sun setting early this time of year, it should be dark enough by between 5:00 and 5:30 pm to get out and see these.   By 6:30 pm, they will start to dip into the haze near the horizon.  If you …

Moon, Jupiter, Venus ConjunctionRead More