An optics education program designed around experiments with small telescopes

Stephen M. Pompea; Robert T. Sparks; Constance E. Walker; Erin F. C. Dokter

doi:10.1117/12.862638

30 August 2010 An optics education program designed around experiments with small telescopes

Stephen M. Pompea, Robert T. Sparks, Constance E. Walker, Erin F. C. Dokter

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Proceedings Volume 7783, Optics Education and Outreach; 77830G (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862638
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory has led the development of a new telescope kit for kids as part of a strategic plan to interest young children in science. This telescope has been assembled by tens of thousands of children nationwide, who are now using this high-quality telescope to conduct optics experiments and to make astronomical observations. The Galileoscope telescope kit and its associated educational program are an outgrowth of the NSF sponsored "Hands-On Optics" (HOO) project, a collaboration of the SPIE, the Optical Society of America, and NOAO. This project developed optics kits and activities for upper elementary students and has reached over 20,000 middle school kids in afterschool programs. HOO is a highly flexible educational program and was featured as an exemplary informal science program by the National Science Teachers Association. Our new "Teaching with Telescopes" program builds on HOO, the Galileoscope and other successful optical education projects.

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Stephen M. Pompea, Robert T. Sparks, Constance E. Walker, and Erin F. C. Dokter "An optics education program designed around experiments with small telescopes", Proc. SPIE 7783, Optics Education and Outreach, 77830G (30 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862638

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