It is with great sadness that we pass along the news that we have lost a bright star from the Carolina Skies Astronomy Club.  Bill All, our long-time leader, advisor to A Time for Science and dear friend, passed away suddenly this past week.  We offer our condolences to Susan and his family.  Bill was an enthusiastic astronomer, photographer and advocate for the Astronomy Club and for ATFS and an all-around true friend.  He will truly be missed.

John Bray

A Time for Science would like to send out a special congratulations to FIRST FLL Lego Team Titanium Cranium.  East Carolina 4H’s Robotics Team Placed FIRST at the regional competition in Jacksonville, NC and qualified for the state competition to be held on January 29th in Greensboro, NC.  Excellent job to everyone!

You are invited to come to the Bray Hollow Nature Conservancy to join A Time for Science and Carolina Skies Astronomy Club for the Winter Solstice 2010 Star Party on Monday, December 20th – starting after sundown (around 5:00 – 5:30) .  This is a FREE event to attend.  Weather and cloud cover permitting.  Signing-in at the Center offers a chance to see the newly installed sun dial constructed as a high school senior project.

Some of the highlights will include:

• Jupiter is still a bright beacon & will be overhead at sunset
• The moon will again be full and present an opportunity to marvel at the maria, craters, and mountains on its surface
• The bright moon may diminish their appearance but the mighty hunter Orion will be rising and by full darkness the winter constellations should be in view
• Telescopes will be available for viewing
• A flyer for this event is available here:  Winter_Solstice_2010.pdf

While at the A Time for Science Learning Center participants will have an opportunity to see, touch, explore and examine the nose-wheel tire (see above) that went into space and back on the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Mission STS-113.  This historic item is on loan from NASA and the Eastern NC Regional Science Center, Inc. (DBA GO-Science).  Bring the kids!  Bring the camera!

Pre-Registration for this event is: CLOSED

All are invited to our last Saturday Family Fun Day (SFFD) of 2010.  On Saturday, December 11 we will showcase two times for which you can stop by the A Time for Science Nature Center to go on a guided nature walk of the Bray Hollow Conservancy.  After the walk you can participate in one of two craft activities (bird feeders or Christmas ornaments).  During this SFFD we will be be expecting a larger crowd for our event.  You may attend the first one at 10 am to 12 pm (Noon) OR the second session from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Remember, there is a small fee associated with SFFD and we ask that you register on the SFFD page here.  If you register for our event and last minute changes will not allow you to make it, please email Leah Connell at leah@atimeforscience.org.  Thanks!

Saturday Family Fun Day Registration Page

Here’s a video of some of the day’s events that I put together.  We will have a full report and lots of pictures for the Pioneering Technology Day that took place on November 13, 2010.  See our announcement of this event here, which includes a list of vendors and activities.  I also captured some additional video from a few individual vendors and presenters that I will post soon.  Enjoy!