Education and Public Outreach Committee Report

CASCA Outreach Activity

The Committee implemented an on-line EPO reporting form to allow CASCA members to record their outreach activities. This form has been well received and the data allows CASCA to track the number of outreach activities reported (in several categories) as well as track the number of people reached by these activities.

A change was made for 2012 that allows people to indicate that more than activity took place, e.g., day-time observing in conjunction with a school visit. The table below shows the number of people reached for 2012 (to Nov 30) and for all of 2011.

For 2012 events that included more than one activity will be counted once for each activity. Even accounting for the double, or multiple counting, it is clear that the level of outreach by CASCA members increased significantly over 2011. It is also likely that the level of reporting has increased since last year as people are now aware of the reporting form and/or it is now part of their outreach routine.

If one removes the multiple counting of people at events that included more than one activity, then a total of 44,112 people were reached in 2012 compared to 13,757 in 2011. The transit of Venus and the increase solar activity are probably the most significant reason for this welcome increase.

Actviity	2012	2011
Astronomy course (for non-science majors)	5500	5609
Day-time observing	12745	10
Other	817	117
Night-time observing	4020	5945
Public Exhibition	375	260
Public talk	23698	1344
School visit (K-3)	289	347
School visit (4-8)	9939	25
School visit (9-12)	9575	100
Totals	66958	13757

The Early Music Society of the Islands arranged for Tafelmusik to bring their IYA program, The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres, to Victoria (as well as Vancouver, Duncan and Nanaimo and other western Canadian venues). Jim Hesser worked hard to put the Orchestra’s local host organization and the local amateur and/or professional astronomers in contact prior to each performance.

Their Victoria performance was to a full house of 800 people. Public reaction to their concert was extremely positive. Miraculously (for November) the skies were clear, allowing Victoria members of the RASC to show the Moon and Jupiter to the public following the performance. After their Duncan performance the following afternoon, the orchestra came to the DAO for an open house and tour of the Plaskett Telescope (whose construction began 305 years after Galileo made his first telescope), hosted by Jim Hesser, Eric Chisholm and Laura Ferrarese. If you haven’t experienced this IYA legacy created with strong input from John Percy, and it comes to your area, treat yourself: you will not regret it.