ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> Special note to planetarium and science museum educators:
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> Seeing in the Dark, Timothy Ferris’s acclaimed television special
> on stargazing and amateur astronomy, returns to PBS for a second
> prime-time national broadcast on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at eight
> pm (check local listings).
>
> The broadcast is timed to coincide with warm summer nights, making
> this an excellent time to schedule "Seeing in the Dark" events.
> When the show premiered last fall, many planetaria and science
> museums held special screenings of the film -- often arranging
> “star parties” afterwards in cooperation with local amateur
> astronomy clubs.
>
> To assist you with planning, the show's producers are offering
> these "summer specials:"
>
> 1. A free DVD of the show (if you commit to a public showing in
> connection with an astronomy program)
>
> 2. Access to the Seeing in the Dark Internet Telescope for your
> science camp instructors and their students
>
> 3. Downloadable hands-on astronomy activities from the "Seeing in
> the Dark" web site.
>
> To obtain a DVD, please send a letter on institutional stationery
> with the specifics of your planned public event to:
>
> Emily Dreyfuss
> ClockDrive Productions
> 97 Telegraph Hill Blvd.
> San Francisco, CA 94133
> [log in to unmask]
>
> P.S. ClockDrive can also arrange short-term loan of a Blu-Ray high-
> definition DVD should you wish to have a high-def screening,
> praised by stargazers and videophiles alike for its astonishing
> views of the universe.
>
>
> ==============================================================
>
> About the show:
>
> Seeing in the Dark, Timothy Ferris’ high-definition television
> spectacular on amateur astronomy and the wonders of the night sky,
> returns to PBS on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at eight pm (check local
> listings). When the show premiered, on September 19, 2007,
> critics called it “a rhapsodic sight-and-sound odyssey into the
> night sky” (Associated Press) by “the greatest science writer of
> his generation” (The New York Times).
>
> “This is not your standard one-dimensional, expository science
> documentary,” wrote David Brody of Space.com. “Seeing in the Dark
> is more like a reality show from inside a love affair.” “The high-
> definition astrophotography looks like something out of Star Wars,”
> wrote Joshua Zumbrun in the Washington Post. “Who remembered that
> our real universe could look that way, too?”
>
> Commenting on the new airdate, Ferris said he hoped that the second
> national showing would continue to attract teachers and students to
> the program website, http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark. Millions
> of viewers have seen the film, and hundreds of thousands have
> visited the website, taking advantage of its resources for
> teachers, students, and families.
>
> The website’s most popular features include customizable star
> charts for every visitor’s time and location; astronomy activities
> that you can download for use in classrooms, in summer camps, and
> with families; and the Seeing in the Dark Internet Telescope. “The
> Internet Telescope is available free of charge to all students and
> teachers,” Ferris noted. “Just request an object through the
> website and we will shoot an image and email it back to you,
> usually within a few days.” During the summer, summer school and
> summer camp instructors and students can also use the telescope.
>
> The film -- based on Ferris’ book Seeing in the Dark, named by The
> New York Times as one of the ten best books published in 2002 --
> shows how amateur astronomers and casual stargazers are getting in
> touch with nature on the largest scales. “I hope it will encourage
> viewers to make stargazing part of their lives,” Ferris said. “The
> website provides them with most of the tools they need to get
> started. Using its resources you can print out a star chart for
> your location, make a red-light flashlight to preserve your night
> vision using materials already around the house, and be outdoors
> learning the night sky all within ten or fifteen minutes.”
>
> To capture the beauty and wonder of the night sky, the producers
> assembled a world-class team including Hollywood cinematographer
> Francis Kenny, veteran BBC natural history director Nigel Ashcroft,
> the celebrated astronomical special-effects artist Don Davis, sound
> designer Kate Hopkins (Planet Earth), and three-time Academy Award®
> winner Walter Murch, who did the digital surround-sound mix. The
> film features memorable deep-space images by some of the world’s
> most respected amateur astrophotographers. The film’s original
> musical score is by Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher, of Dire Straits
> fame.
>
> The project’s educational outreach director is astronomer and
> educator Andrew Fraknoi, head of the astronomy department at
> Foothill College near San Francisco.
>
> Seeing in the Dark features amateur astronomers ranging from casual
> stargazers to those who have made important scientific discoveries.
> Among them:
>
> § Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Robert
> Smith, who today shows the wonders of the night sky to high school
> students in Miami, Florida.
>
> § Barbara Wilson, a onetime Houston housewife who got a
> telescope after her children were born and turned out to be one of
> the most sharp-eyed visual observers on Earth.
>
> § Steven James O’Meara, who taught himself astronomy as a
> boy and was given keys to Harvard College Observatory when he was
> 14 years old.
>
> § Ron Bissinger, who co-discovered a planet orbiting a
> star 150 light years from Earth from a backyard observatory he
> built himself.
>
> § Rob Gendler, who takes deep-space photographs from his
> driveway in suburban Connecticut that rival the work of
> professional astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope.
>
> Teaching resources are available at http://www.pbs.org/
> seeinginthedark/for-teachers.
> For family resources, visit http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/for-
> families.
>
> The Seeing in the Dark film and website are made possible by the
> National Science Foundation and PBS.
>
>
> ================================
> Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Program
> Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd.,
> Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, USA
>
> Telephone: (650) 949-7288
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> ================================
>
Suzanne Gurton, Education Manager
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
390 Ashton Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94112
phone: 415-337-1100 x110
fax: 415-337-5205
www.astrosociety.org/education.html
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|