Kids and the moon

On the fourth Friday of every month, our church hosts free babysitting to
give parents a break. Tonight I took in my telescope and set it up in the
parking lot. The first arrivals were treated to a view of the sun, with a
good-sized sunspot and some smaller spots. They like it, but were more
impressed with the scope than with the sun.

Later we took the scope out again and zeroed in on the moon. The kids range
in age from 2-12. It has been 4-5 months since I had a large group of kids
at the scope and it again was fun to sit and listen to them ooh and ahh over
the view. Getting to push actual buttons for the focuser was obviously a
hit. But about half of them kept coming back for another view. They cycled
through the line several times before the cold sent most inside.

Just as I was finishing, the youth group from the Slavic congregation who
meets in our building came out. Many were amazed to discover an ordinary
person could have a telescope. One teenager had been in our kids program a
few years ago and given me a good deal of trouble at different times. He was
always causing problems and getting others to join him in disrupting
whatever we were trying to do at the time. He stayed out with me for nearly
an hour, asking questions about what it took to get a telescope and how to
work it once you had it. I heard him muttering to himself about "one year,
two years..." and finally he said, "I can do that. I can get a job and buy a
telescope." I told him when he is ready, I'll help him find a good deal on a
good scope and let him take the binoculars home with the promise to bring
them back next month. Once he knew he could borrow them, he sat and stared
at the moon through them like he had never seen the moon before.

I think it was the most fun I've had with the telescope so far this year.

Clear Skies

Chuck Taylor

I think it was the most fun I've had with the telescope so far this
year.

'Indeed' to you too, Chuck, I see you understand perfectly!
I hope the teenager succeeds.

Denis
--
DT
Replace nospam with the antithesis of hills