Student astrophotography was featured in the Badger Herald student newspaper this May.
Eric Hooper of the Departments of Astronomy and Physics, and TA Kat Barger were delighted to see the full-page color spread in the May 6, 2009 issue of the Badger Herald. A slideshow also showcased the student work.
Barger and Hooper were instructors for the non-majors introductory course Astronomy 104 "Our Exploration of the Solar System."
This same class produced 30 excellent projects, including five radio shows on WSUM and WORT, a Madison Children's Museum activity, a Boy Scout outing, star parties, Youtube videos and children's books, among other outreach.
Every student joined a group self-organized around common interests to generate a product that communicated astronomy to the general population. The projects gave students a creative outlet to merge outside interests and skills with course material, an exposure to scientific communication, an opportunity for peer instruction and evaluation, and experience managing group dynamics.
Four Astronomy 103 or 104 courses now have completed such outreach group projects.