Astronomy and Astrophysics for Gifted and Talented,
Intellectually
Curious, Students: three weeks in a
planetarium 9AM-noon and one week in West Virginia camping with your
parents learning about the universe.
What happens when a sun explodes? What causes the stunning "Northern
Lights"? What mysterious and powerful force holds the universe
together? When did the
universe all start and where is it going? Learn the answers
to
these questions and have fun doing hands-on activities that will
stimulate
your imagination and curiosity. The class will meet in the modern
Montgomery
College Planetarium and use real data collected by spacecrafts and
observatories.
Algebra and use of Texas Instruments graphing calculators is required.
Investigate
topics in astronomy and learn the physics necessary to make sense of
the
universe. This course is designed so that you could start
or
continue a meaningful science
fair project in space science
using real data perhaps collected by a spacecraft or earth borne
observatory, if you chose to. This is a research based course
where
instead of learning about science you actually are expected to do
science. Science as a verb not a noun.
The instructor for the course is
Dr. Harold Williams, and I want to be your mentor.
- First one Weeks: Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27,
2008 at
9am-noon
in
the planetarium at Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery
College.
- Then take a week off and encourage the student to go with a
parent and us to The
Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) Annual Meeting
and Technical Conference Sunday, June 29-Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at the
Green Bank Radio
Telescope, Pocahontas County, West Virginia and then the 5th Annual
Green Bank Star Quest Wednesday, July 2 - Saturday, July 5, 2008
sponsored by Central
Appalachian
Astronomy Club, Kanawha
Valley Astronomical Society; we will do some real observational
astronomy form a dark sight in both the radio and the optical this week.
- Third and Fourth week: then back to the planetarium at Takoma
Park/Silver
Spring Campus of Montgomery
College for more weeks: Monday, July 7 through Friday, July 18, 2008 at
9am-noon.
- So this is 4 week learning camp if you can persuade your parent,
or some other responsible adult that your parents trust (like another
parent in your school or friend of your parents), to
go camping at the Green Bank Radio Telescope, Pocahontas County, West
Virginia and a 3 week learning camp if you can not come with your
parents to Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
Send e-mail
to Dr. Harold
Williams at Harold.Williams@montgomerycollege.edu
Links to Sites we will use during the class:
To register for the course call Sharon Wolfgang 240-567-7264 or
240-567-7917. The course is SCH980
and the section
number is CRN16600.
Tuition is $320+ Fee $70 = $390
(Non-resident, outside of Maryland, additional fee of
$160).
Back
to Planetarium page.
Web page by Dr. Harold Alden Williams, last modified 9:37PM June
10,
2008.