Starting bright and early Saturday morning, June 12, eight students entered one of the physics classrooms at Pitt Community College and by 5:00 that afternoon walked away with a fully functional Dobsonian mount reflector telescope.  Under the direction of Charles Goodman, one of the volunteer advisors for A Time for Science, and assisted by Nancy and John Bray students assembled from ATFS style kits four 4 ½-in, three 6-in and one 8-in telescopes.  Later that evening most of these budding astronomers, some joined by family, gathered with the Carolina Skies Astronomy Club at the Bray Hollow Conservancy where, during their “First Light” activities, they learned to collimate their scopes, calibrate their finder scopes and search the heavens for the wonders of the night sky.

They will return to Bray Hollow on several more occasions during this semester to complete the work for their astronomy credit.  And this will all be repeated this coming Saturday, June 19 with another in the Telescope Making Workshops.

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Telescope Making Workshop – June 12

The first Saturday Family Fun Day (SFFD) at A Time for Science was a success! Our 20 participants enjoyed a nice walk through the woods and learned a little about the plants and animals. We saw some interesting insects, turtle egg shells, and a kingsnake crossed our path! The intrepid interpreter, Leah Connell, managed to capture the kingsnake and show him around to the guests. Our non-venomous visitor was a little nervous, but none the worse for wear and slithered off happily into the woods to the sounds of our goodbyes.  Our guests were very helpful in pointing out various interesting sights in the woods, and Leah was definitely appreciative of all the extra sets of eyes in finding the good stuff. Everyone had a good time on the walk; however all were grateful for the air conditioning in the craft room when we got back!

The activity for this SFFD was to make picture frames.  The frames we made from found sticks were really cool! The creativity flowed in the room and everyone’s frame came out a little different. We decorated them with twine, raffia, and bits of nature we found along the path. Some of them even had living leaves on them! The workmanship from such young (and slightly older) hands was very impressive. Thanks to all for making our first SFFD such a great time! We’re looking forward to next month!  See our other SFFD events.

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Saturday Family Fun Day – June 2010

The warm, humid, windless weather on June 5th was perfect for bug-hunting.  A small group of committed entomologists from the East Carolina 4H club used this opportunity to set traps to attract insects to add to their collections.  A homemade concoction of mashed bananas and whiskey was painted on several trees around the A Time for Science Learning Center.  This nectar imitation attracts large butterflies, beetles, and moths.  Bamboo poles were erected to suspend a white sheet near the pond.  A black light and a mercury vapor light were angled to shine on the sheet to imitate the moon.  This is another trap designed to attract big, beautiful bugs.  Traps set, it was time to wait for the sun to set.

The amateur entomologists convened inside the ATFS center to pin previously-collected insects for display and study.  They pored over field guides to identify the many bugs they’d pinned.  An hour later, darkness had descended and the hunt was on.  Insects swirled around the hanging sheet.  Tiny mosquitoes buzzed ears and ensnared themselves in long hair.  Several huge grapevine beetles, giant diving beetles, and assassin bugs were attracted to the hanging sheet, then trapped in jars loaded with ethyl acetate.  The prizes of the night were huge lacewings and a huge hawk sphinx moth.  Everyone left with dozens of insects to freeze at home and add to their growing insect collections.  It was great buggy fun!

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Entomology Night – June 2010

You are invited to come to the Bray Hollow Nature Conservancy to join A Time for Science and Carolina Skies Astronomy Club for Summer Solstice 2010 on Monday, June 21 starting at about 8:30 pm (Weather and cloud cover permitting).  Please register below!

Come a bit early and watch the setting sun. Compare its position to what you observed three months ago at the Equinox Party.  Then see the rising of the Summer Triangle and its three beautiful constellations. See Venus in the evening sky then later see Mars and Saturn and its rings and moons.  But most of all this is your chance to experience a touch of space!

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.

Some of the highlights will include:

• See the Summer Triangle and the Summer Constellations
• See Venus,  Mars and Saturn
• Telescopes will be available for viewing
• A tour of the Summer Sky will be presented
• This is your chance to see and touch a Space Shuttle tire

A flyer for this event is available here:  Summer Solstice 2010 Flyer

Registration for this event is: CLOSED

A Time for Science is very excited and proud to announce the first of its series entitled Saturday Family Fun Days (SFFD) to start on Saturday, June 12 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.

These are T.A.C.O. (Take A Child Outside) related events and are under the guidance of nature interpreter, Leah Connell.  Each SFFD (Saturday Family Fun Day) will consist of a guided Nature Walk through some portion of the Bray Hollow Conservancy followed by participation in one of a variety of Nature Art/Craft activities.  For complete information and registration, please see our SFFD page here.

Our children’s edible garden project, entitled “Growing Food for and by Growing Bodies,” at the Boys and Girl’s club in Ayden is well underway.  The project started in February with the children setting up a worm bin and starting seeds or cuttings.  With the help of a high school student, Colton Roberts from South Central High School, seven raised beds were built and filled with topsoil and peat moss as part of Phase 1 plan.  See the previous posting here for additional detail.

After the grand opening of the new facility in Ayden, the planting of the beds began in earnest.  The children were each given a 4 foot by 2 foot section and asked to select and plant their choices from the available vegetables and flowers.   The principles of square foot gardening were used to maximize the use of space yielded very diverse garden plots.  The students enjoyed making their selections and planted and watered with great enthusiasm.  In addition to the children’s vegetable beds, we also planted a demonstration “smelly garden’ which contained a number of fragrant or pungent herbs.  By popular demand, a watermelon bed was included and despite some reservations on the part of the students, okra was also planted.

Another bed was planted to demonstrate the Native American tradition of planting corn, squash and beans together, a type of complementary inter-cropping known as “The Three Sisters“.  A final bed was also planted in sunflowers as a part of a citizen science program called the “Great Sunflower Project“, which seeks to gather information on bee populations and distribution.  This bed is officially known on the project’s website as Ayden Bees Rule.  We are looking forward to an interesting summer of weeding, watering, fertilizing, harvesting and EATING!

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Growing Food for and by Growing Bodies Update