Tonight, while walking to the Healdsburg Science Fair with my 8 year old
nephew we observed the moon and the earthshine. Below the moon, Mercury
was shining bright, so I pointed it to the family. Above, Saturn and
Jupiter outlined the ecliptic.
Inside the science fair, I walked around the science projects. One young
student won first prize in the Environmental category for a light
pollution study, where she counted the visible stars in Orion from the
city and from the darker Alexander Valley out of town. 38% more stars
in the country! She observed on new moon and full moon and in-between.
Something like 400 entries in all the categories!
Aaron won first place, technology category k-2nd group for the Junkyard
Wars inspired project where each student was given a bag of stuff and
two hours to make a boat. Aaron's winning boat was the one that held
the most metal washers - 200 of them! His two foot long canoe-shaped
boat had popsicle stick ribs and plastic straw keel and modeling clay
for ballast and aluminum foil hull. Third year he has placed first in a
category! A nice way to spend a Friday night!
Aunt Jane
--Jane Houston Jones San Rafael, CA jane@No-Spam http://www.whiteoaks.com