| Astronomy, Camping and a NASA Computer Lab |
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| Written by Helen Stephenson | |
| Tuesday, 06 May 2008 | |
So far the The Weather Channel is promising a beautiful day and clear evening this Friday, and the Prescott Astronomy Club (PAC) is happy to hear about that. Their annual camp over at Watson Lake is scheduled to start at 9:30 am this Friday. There will be activities all day, then evening star gazing and the main Star Party at 7:30 pm. Saturday there will be more events until about noon.
PAC sponsors the yearly event, and it is open to the general public. A lot of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will be on hand trying to earn some astronomy related badges. Ed Anderson is the official Scout Merit Badge Counselor. He is also an Astro-Physicist on staff at Northern Arizona University. Anderson will be helping out with a variety of projects depending on individual needs and wants. He will have comet demonstrations, a Venus Topography Box, different types of solar scopes and scout badge work. TheAMIER mobile computer lab from NASA and Northern Arizona University will be coming in from 10 am Friday and leave Saturday sometime in the mid-morning. The lab has 5 computers and a Mead telescope, and is used to teach physics, astronomy and engineering.The lab will be open during the evening Star Party, and there will be telescopes set out on the field. The main Star Party will be up at the Ramada.
Marilyn Unruh will be working with Night Sky Network Astronomy Kits with a lot of creative ways for people to learn more about astronomy. Several area schools are signed up to participate including Washington Traditional, Primavera School, Northpoint Academy, and many home-schooled students. In addition anyone can bring their children or grandchildren independently. PAC volunteer Meghan Taylor-Gebler says people can bring their own kites, or make kites on-site which are “small but aerodynamically sound.” She says people will be flying paper airplanes, can check out the science lab, “walk the Solar System”, learn how telescopes work, and even play with robotics. Anyone can bring their own telescopes or binoculars and the club members will help with set up or aligning the telescopes as needed. They will also have Solar Scopes available. Everyone is invited but they need to bring their own camping gear and food for their families or groups’ campout. There are hot showers and bathrooms. Electrical hook-ups are not available for the RVs, but there is electricity for bathroom use. The Park is free. There are no fees for anything for the event. Taylor-Gebler says that people do not have to sign up, “but it's always nice to have a heads-up.” You can send an email to her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call her at 445-1960 anytime before 6 pm. She says people are free to leave message and she will call back with answers to questions folks may have. Taylor-Gebler says, “Come and jump in! We have the whole park, and we fly kites, meet nice people and have a day of good family fun!”
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So far the
During the day there will be water rockets, hydrogen rockets, kite making and Wright Bros. paper airplane making to cover both the history of aviation and basic aerodynamics.

