NEWS Walnut Valley Unified School District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 880 S. Lemon Avenue
February 16, 2012 Walnut, CA 91789
Star light. Star bright. First star I see tonight!
Collegewood Families Have a Stellar Night
WALNUT, CA--The Walnut High School Astronomy Club and Boy Scout Troop 737 hosted a Star Party for Collegewood Elementary families on January 27.
About 150 attended the club’s first-ever Star Party and with clear skies there was a lot to see! Venus, Jupiter, and the moon, as well as the Orion nebula and Andromeda galaxy were all visible.
Club members, advised by Applied Arts teacher Mike Yamashiro, demonstrated how to use telescopies to view stars, planets, nebulae and other fascinating night sky objects. The members also conducted a presentation was also projected on the handball courts during the event held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
“It’s a great way to promote astronomy and get kids interested in science. We are really thrilled to work with Troop 737. The Star Party will also help the scouts fulfill their community service component,” said Yamashiro.
The scouts cooked up hot chocolate on charcoal grills and baked cinnamon rolls, peach cobbler, brownies, and banana bread in Dutch ovens that were delicious and smelled wonderful! Collegewood Principal Carolyn Wills said.
The 20-member WHS Astronomy Club meets every Friday during lunch to share the latest astronomical news, discuss ideas, and plan future star parties.
The group also conducts fundraising activities to purchase their equipment. Last year, they raised $3,000 to purchase a high end GPS enabled telescope. And earlier this year, Mr. Ken Tragarz donated a similar telescope to the club.
The Walnut High club also constructed their own 8” Dobsonian telescope for “first light” at the star party.
Shown:
The clear evening sky providing the perfect setting for an evening of star-gazing.
Collegewood families were served cobbler baked by Boy Scout Troop 737 during the Star Party. Shown: Karen Pedersen, Eric Chang, Palmer Lai, and Cory Chow.
Collegewood families took turns using the telescope to view stars, planets and night sky objects.