Sea Scouts Neighbours Moon and WOW'S in Bray

Good stuff IAS.

Well done on the turn out Dee. Sorry I couldn't make it, was just back from London and was rather shattered.

This formula for outreach is a definite success. Apart from the scouts that Dee had organised well in advance (about 30), she then dropped leaflets through her neighbours letterbox and had about another 50 turn up. We also did this last year on the green outside my house and had similar numbers turn up. Hope to do another on my green in January - sort of anannual event.

Thanks everybody, I was delighted with the turn out and how the evening went. This formula for public outreach is working very well the reasons are I think, A) Its local, it's people ye know more or less There is a certain amout of control, in that groups like scouts are under leadership and fall in to line with a whistle blow C) It attracts family's, mammy's and daddy's with their children therefore some conrol
D) Putting leaflets in the doors of your estate works as the target audience do not have to drive anywhere, they just open their doors and walk out to the green. E) It is something to build on and repeat again and again. F) Its good for your club, you can do like we did give out leaflets to tell people you exist, to inform them about up coming events, to educate them a little to what's up in the sky that month. As a spin off you may get new members. G) People really really love it and its great fun for the astronomers involved.

Our next Public Star Party will be on November 17th in the upper lake car park in Wicklow National Park. Fingers crossed for another clear night.

We are planning one for our old haunt Sandymount in December perhaps around first quater moon if the sky is clear.

We will repeat John Murphy's Excellent Star Party in Firhouse as it worked so well last year. I will invite schools in that area to come along. These would be schools to whom I gave talks this year. Schools tend to turn up with their teachers so a little control factor involved there again.

Other IFAS clubs should think about trying this outreach model.

Deirdre Kelleghan
President
Irish Astronomical Society 1937 - 2007
Public Relations Officer IFAS
www.deirdrekelleghan.com/
homepage.eircom.net/~irishas/index.htm
www.irishastronomy.org/