4. Finding a Partner For Astronomers: Finding a Partner Teacher How to approach school personnel For Teachers: Finding a Partner Astronomer About amateur astronomers   For Teachers: Finding a Partner Astronomer Because Project ASTRO encourages both amateur and professional astronomers to visit schools, there are several avenues to pursue to find a partner astronomer. 1. Contact local astronomy clubs Many amateur astronomers belong to local astronomy clubs. Each club usually has some members who are interested in education and explaining astronomy to the public. Often, astronomy clubs hold star parties for the public, or go to local schools for one-time visits. You will want to find the club members who are interested in conveying astronomy to others and have at least some experience with children. Call the club president, attend a local meeting, or show up at an evening star gazing session and talk to the members. Most likely you will find someone who is enthusiastic. To find amateur astronomy clubs in your area, contact your local planetarium, community college astronomy department, or a local telescope store. Lists of amateur clubs also appear each year in a supplement section included in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines, available in many libraries.) 2. Contact astronomy educators Call your local planetarium, science center, or community college to find astronomy educators. Many of these institutions have at least one person on staff who teaches astronomy, usually someone with a Master's degree in astronomy. Staff and faculty at these organizations can be quite busy, but may be interested in visiting your school to enhance their teaching skills and experience, and to link with the community. If the main astronomer or faculty member is not available, he or she may be able to refer you to advanced students, amateur astronomers, or others in the local astronomy community. 3. Contact professional or research astronomers The involvement of professional astronomers in K-12 education is gaining legitimacy as scientists in astronomy and other fields recognize the importance of supporting science education in the early grades. You can find professional astronomers through local colleges and universities, research labs, NASA centers, and industry. Graduate students and postdoctoral level professionals may be particularly interested inworking with schools. At the university level, the best initial contact is the astronomy and physics department secretary. He or she should be able to give you names of faculty members or graduate students who have an interest in education. Ask if thesecretary can post an announcement on electronic mail (astronomers use electronic mail as one of their main vehicles of communication), or distribute letters to all faculty and graduate students. If you need help finding astronomy programs and research centers in your area, contact the American Astronomical Society (2000 Florida Avenue, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20009 (202)328-2010). The AAS is the professional society for astronomers and publishes an annual directory of its individuals and organizational members. 4. Call the About Amateur Astronomers Amateur astronomers come from all walks of life and pursue astronomy as a hobby. Most amateurs have other careers - they may be doctors, or contractors, or business people, or software engineers (one dynamic amateur astronomer we know is a butcher). Some amateurs are retired professional astronomers, and, while the majority of amateur astronomers are men, there are increasing numbers of women involved in astronomy clubs. Amateur astronomy is an exciting hobby because amateur astronomers can and do actually make scientific discoveries and contribute to the field of astronomy. Because the sky is so large, there is room for many telescopes to keep watch for astronomical events. In fact, many new comets are discovered by amateur "comet hunters" and some exploding stars were first noticed by amateur observers. The area of variable stars is particularlu dependent upon amateur observations. Many amateurs know a lot about the night sky, constellation lore, and observing through a small telescope. And their enthusiasm for astronomy can be contagious.