Basildon Scouts and Star gazing live 2015...

[lynnm]

HI.

I'm reaching out as i have an idea for all of the Basildon District Scouts to earn their Astronomy badges during SGL 2015 ( i see its for March Next year ) 

would there be interest on here in local people bring their equipment?

remember though this would be a scout focused event for children not an adult gathering but aimed at chlidren.

additionaly i may be looking at other space related activitesd such as EME and other radio related items like satellite work with radio hams.

anyone interested..

( proposed location at the moment - Kingston Ridge Scout camp - Langdon Hills )

mike

[Blazar]

Hi Mike. Yep no worries. I also hold a CRB check so no issues. I have the equipment you see in my signature, so could bring along a TAL as well as the main setup. Also got some bins of course. need to get it in the diary ASAP....

If you could also book a clear sky that would be nice ;-)

Regards

[Lorne]

My wife runs a brownie unit here and for their stargazing badge I took my scope along, she also hired a 6 metre inflatable planetarium. Just as well as the weather didnt play ball on the night and the only stars the girls got to see were all inside!

[lynnm]

Thanks for your comments guys.. I was thinking does anyone know where I might be possilbe to get some meteorite ? On loan? I'd like to try and get something tactile for the event, so they could touch rather than just look at.

I know moon rock would be good.but pretty unlikely..

Any advice appreciate..

[Blazar]

Hm....I think Royston down at the Astronomy Resource Centre in Hockley has one...and he does astro talks to schools etc. He might be the best person to contact. He has quite a few scopes as well.

[lynnm]

Do you have any contact details? Like to get in early if possible...

[Blazar]

The details are below. 

Astronomy Resource Centre

Information Services in Hockley View others nearby

Add review

66  Main Road
Hockley
Essex
SS5 4JH  View on map

• T: 01702 206 244

[lynnm]

Thanks. i called royston and his game..  looking good so far..

[lynnm]

I had a meeting with the district scouts and they are fully up for the idea of having and this event, so if anyone is interested in coming along with some kit I'd be very interested from hearing from you..

Cheers

Mike

[knobby]

What dates are you looking at ?

[lynnm]

Hi.. I'm looking at the evening / nighttime of the 21st March ..

Regards

[Blazar]

Im up for it. will have to put it in the diary.

[knobby]

Any updates ?

[lynnm]

Hi..

Yes indeed.. I have a 2nd meeting with the scout leaders tonight, which will look at what actvities well host on the weekend, it may consist of a number of things as this is national science week also.. So we may have some rocketry on the cards during the day.

We have a decent sized hall all lined up from a local school, so the proposed planitrium is looking good..

Just need to drum up some astronomers....

I'd like to have some kind of telescope workshop for the kids, so if they bring there own, they can be shown the basics and hopefully get better use....

More updates to follow after tonight's meeting...

Cheers and thanks for the continued interest.

Mike

[lynnm]

update..

so i have the local school hall onboard where we will have a planitarium set up by Royston from Hockley which is a real bonus, and really looking forward to that, and we have a range of events being planned during the day for the scouts ranging from a space camp ( astronout training ); (lunar rover simulation) amongst some other ideas to keep the kids happy.. 

so with 10 weeks to go, and i know that there will be a number of other events occuring ( including SGLX ), are there any more people wanting or willing to show of their telescopes at one of basildons darker spots in the area?..

ideally i'd like to get the scouts and cubs bring there own equipment also, but have a little scope workshope to show them how to use them correctly..  but i don't think i'm good enough to do that.. so if anyone knows anyone.....

cheers

Mike

[lynnm]

Current possible SGL attendees are:....

Myself

Knobby

Blazar

[jgs001]

I'm a bit far away to assist on the day, but I've done some astro sessions for various scout sections, small numbers, so an ST80 and a pair of binos was more than sufficient.

One thing you could look at during the day, is a competition to build 'Mars' landers... basically get an egg down to the ground from something safely.

If you can, it's also worth trying some way to give them an idea of the scale of it all... I don't know how big the field is, but you could possibly lay out a solar system to scale ... 

I'm sure the leaders will help with this, but it would be worth looking at the details of the badge requirements and maybe tailoring the activities to fit with those. 

For the scouts https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/530/astronomer-activity-badge/?cat=7,64,172&moduleID=10

for Cubs http://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/1407/astronomer-activity-badge/?cat=12,67,127&moduleID=10

[lynnm]

thanks for the information, after a tally up of the proposed numbers ( its going to be a distrct event ) it could be around 200 kids during the day with a number on a sleep over into Sunday..  and the site it a pretty large camp site with plenty of space.. we've got all the leaders thinking up extra activites for this so plenty of badges will be on offer i think..

cheers

Mike

[Blazar]

Is there hard ground to set up the scopes on? I will bring a TAL100 on the older wooden tripod. And will bring the imaging rig, so we can do some of that as well.  We do have a projector at home as well, which I could rig up to a laptop, and have a slideshow of Lunar images on (and a few DSO's etc.)

Might be worth asking around the imaging section if people would let you use some of theirs as well (putting their names on them of course...)

[lynnm]

HI..  theres not much hard standing i'm afriad but i will arrange tents/marquees set up to place any electrical equipment and i can arrange to have one fairy central allowing laptops etc to be run in comfort..

not a bad idea about the imaging.. i know a man ( very close to where i live who has a raft of great pictures i might be able to create a slideshow )

i've also got a projector screen would that help?

have a look at the kingston ridge website to get an idea of the layout.  www.kingstonridgecampsite.co.uk

cheers

Mike

[knobby]

Hi Mike , will crb checks be an issue or will the fact that the scout leaders are there be sufficient ?

[lynnm]

ideally CRB checked.. but if you are not isolated ( left alone ) with any kids, as an occasional visitor it'll be all ok..  i'll be there to make sure that doesn't happen.. 

cheers

Mike

[Blazar]

I am CRB checked so all ok here.

[jgs001]

Unless the scouts requirements have changed since I was involved (and had my last CRB check carried out), a CRB issued to another organisation is not accepted by the scouting movement, and they will require their own CRB check to be performed. Therefore, best to work on the basis that you don't have one that's acceptable to the scouts unless proven otherwise.

[lynnm]

HI.. as you will be based as an occasional helper and that you will be managed by a CRB checked person at all times, then the need to be indvidually CRB checked is nil, .. but having CRB makes my planning a hell of a lot easier  :-)