Various members of the Society have been out and about recently sharing the wonders of the Universe with young people.
Des Loughney, Angus Self and Hugh Somerville went to Broomhouse Primary School to show some of the children the Moon at a specially organised evening event. Working with gaps in the clouds and with a few meteorites for added interest, they were able to keep them entertained and involved. They took along a few telescopes and showed them the Moon on a laptop connected to a camera and telephoto lens.
Winchburgh Cubs contacted us to ask if someone could bring along a telescope to help them complete their astronomy badges. So Tosh White and Mark Phillips went last Friday evening and were fortunate to have clear skies. They dragged a couple of telescopes out to the middle of a playing field and showed about 20 Cubs the Moon, providing them each with an outline chart to help them identify some of the features they would be seeing. The “oohs” and “ahhhs” as the children had their first views of the Moon through a telescope made it all so rewarding. The very varied, creative and interesting questions afterwards showed that they have a real interest in astronomy and the Universe.