[Lvas] Some ideas we've beem mulling around

[Douglas Phillipson]

Rob Lambert and I have been thinking of some ideas to keep interest up 
in the club.  These are some random thoughts.  Some we might have 
already have done.  What do  you think? Comments welcome...

How about we do some ad-hoc sidewalk astronomy, Vegas style, on the 
strip?  Video tape it for our enjoyment?  Astronomy "man on the street" 
interviews.  Do you know what a Globular cluster is?  Want to see one?  
How many visible moons does Jupiter have? Want to see them? Many 
questions easily explained and shown to the public.  Footage to the 
local news media?
 
1) Annual Contests and recognition
   a) Best customized scope.
   b) Best home made scope.
   c) Most helpful to noobies.
   d) Most original scope.
   e) Most patient in outreach.
   f) Most original astronomical hardware idea.
   g) Best home made observing chair.
   h) Object Sketching contest.
   i) Your contest ideas here.

  2) Do group projects and report on them
   a) Convert a scope to a computer driven "goto" scope.
       1) Lessons learned for other club members doing this.
   b) Add a computer to a scope.
   c) (Big one) put a remote controlled scope on a mountaintop
        1) Organize people to pick a site.
        2) Contact building owners for permission to locate a scope.
        3) Design and build the control system, weather station, and 
small dome.
        4) Assign observing time to members.        
        5) Other non-observers should be able to see what it's pointing at.
   d) Start focus groups to study particular types of objects and then 
give presentations on them.

   3) Seek other Astronomy groups and report on interesting activities 
we might also do.
       a) What activities do other groups do?
       b) Report on other star parties we might attend.
       c) Those of us that attend other star parties present their 
experience.

   4) Show and tell hardware accessories for scopes
       a) Motor drives and computers
       b) Eyepieces.
       c) CCD's
       d) EP Cases
       e) Observing chairs
       f) Mounts
       g) Collimators
       h) Lasers

   5) More speakers on (With lots of pictures)
       a) Astrophotography, local club members experience too.
       b) Allan Guthmiller and the history of his scope, VERY interesting.
       c) Observatories and their discoveries.
       d) Astronomical Object specific experts, black holes, supernova, 
planets, nebulae.
       e) Local club members talk about their equipment and experience.
       f) Current astronomical theories.

   6) Presentations by our members or others on current NASA events and 
programs
       1) New horizons monthly update.
       2) Mars rovers monthly update and discoveries.
       3) Other space probe updates (Cassini, etc).
       4) Upcoming missions.
       5) Recent Astronomical discoveries.
       6) What happened to Viking mars landers, what did they discover?
       7) Season specific lists of interesting objects to locate and 
observe.
       8) Pick an object and present it?