Outreach
AstroDay
AstroDay is an annual astronomy fair in Hilo (and now in Kailua-Kona) on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, put on by the Maunakea Astronomy Outreach Committee (MKAOC). It features interactive exhibits from most of the Maunakea and Haleakalā observatories, the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, local robotics clubs, amateur astronomers, and more. There are also interactive science demonstrations at the center stage, where I've enjoyed doing liquid nitrogen and impact cratering demonstrations with my colleagues.
HI STAR
Hawaiʻi Student/Teacher Astronomy Research (HI STAR) is a week-long astronomy summer boot camp for Hawaiʻi middle- and high-schoolers. Students learn the ropes of astronomy, coding, and research as they work on a research project with a mentor who is a professional astronomer. In 2019 I worked with a group of students to measure the diameter of Venus from Solar telescope images of the 2012 Venus transit.
StarLab
The StarLab portable, inflatable planetarium has a special place in my heart. My colleagues and I take the StarLab out into the community to give 30-minute planetarium shows. It gets lots of "ooh"s and "ahh"s from 3-year-olds to adults who encounter the changing night sky up-close, many for the first time.
