Outreach

One of my favorite parts of being an Astronomer is the opportunity that I get to introduce and explain astronomical concepts to the Public. During my time at Michigan, I have had the pleasure of partaking in a variety of outreach opportunities, described below.

This past August, I helped run the University of Michigan Astronomy Departments Solar Eclipse event. During this event, I was operating an H alpha filtered telescope which allowed viewers to directly look at this eclipse and also view sun spots and solar activity. I had a wonderful time talking to and answering questions from many of the hundreds of participants who came to look at the eclipse.

In January, 2017, I helped organize four public Astronomy talks as part of the AstroFest at the Emerson School, a K-8 independent school in Ann Arbor. I had the pleasure of introducing some of the students and their parents to a variety of concepts including galaxy clusters and dark matter.

Each Summer, from 2014 - 2017, I have volunteered at University of Michigan Astronomy Department Public Observing Nights, specifically geared for incoming UM students. At these events we use a variety of telescopes to highlight some of the different features of the night sky visible in Ann Arbor, such as the moon, planets, and star clusters.

In the Winter of 2014, I corresponded with a young student in Grand Rapids, MI and helped her to learn about the stars and stellar Astronomy as part of her class project. I also had the pleasure of visiting her school and talking to her class about what it means to be an Astronomer as well as answering a plethora of questions about Astronomy.

In 2013-2014, I helped coached the Bach Elementary school Science Olympiad team in Astronomy and the Constellations.