We recently announced The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TAAS) as the winner of Astronomy magazine’s 2011 Out-of-this-world Award for public outreach. We’re thrilled to give them the top honor, but as Astronomy Editor David J. Eicher said, it hard to pick just one winner. So I wanted to highlight some of the other great groups who made it into our final round. Last year, TAAS showed up on this list, so perhaps we’re looking at more than one future winner here.
The Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs
A total of eight groups have joined together in southeastern Michigan to create the Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs. For 15 years, its “feature event” has been the two-day astronomy festival known as Astronomy At The Beach, which offers observing tours, planetarium shows, and astronomy presentations (including one last year from Astronomy’s David J. Eicher). It’s no surprise that attendance can reach up to 10,000.
The Louisville Astronomical Society
For nearly 80 years, the Louisville Astronomical Society has promoted outreach in and around Louisville, Kentucky, and they show no sings of slowing. In 2011 alone, they held more than 100 sidewalk astronomy events with a total attendance of 5,200 newly minted observers. With one observing center in Crawford County, Indiana, and another in E. P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, the club has a lot to offer almost anyone — just ask the Amish group that once came in a buggy to view the stars.
The Origin of Future Scientists
The brainchild of Asanka Waidyarathne, The Origin of Future Scientists aims to turn Sri Lanka into a hub of science and astronomy in south Asia by making astronomy a part of popular culture. To that end, they’ve sponsored field trips to museums, made classroom presentations, hosted workshops on observing and astrophysics topics, and even encouraged writers to try science fiction (the better to interest the public). Perhaps that’s something they learned from interviewing Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the late sci-fi master and Sri Lankan citizen.
The Tallahassee Astronomical Society
Florida's Tallahassee Astronomical Society began a three-pronged outreach program in 2007 designed to “bring the universe” to the public. Ever since, they’ve provided monthly astronomy columns to the local newspaper, produced a free monthly planetarium show, and put on sidewalk astronomy events in a local downtown park. They’ve already reached more than 15,000 people in that time (more than 4,000 just in 2011), and they plan to keep improving those numbers.
The University of the Philippines Diliman Astronomical Society
Despite being “just” a student program, the University of the Philippines Diliman Astronomical Society has spread their passion for the skies throughout their campus, all of Quezon City, and — one day, perhaps — the whole country. They see it as their responsibility “to promote astronomy to every Filipino.” And with their mix of sidewalk astronomy sessions in crowded areas, school and public lectures, and interactive programs, it’s a goal they just might achieve.