Hi All,
I now have details from the organising people about the Quay day in Burnham.
The main aim of the club is to promote astronomy in the area. Astronomy is open and accessible to all. We would like to have a stand at the Quay Day in Burnham which is attended by hundereds if not thousands of visitors at the end of Burnham Week.
We want to have a stand on the field to promote the club and to have solar and perhaps lunar viewing for Joe public to enjoy. The quay day people want £40 for the event, which is fair enough but before committing to paying this we want to ensure that the event is supported by the club in the way of help on the day (these things don't just happen!).
The event runs from 12 - 5pm but the stands have to be in place by 10am so I'm suggesting that help would be most welcome from about 9am to set up and upto about 6pm to take down. I'll caveat that by saying once we are set up there isn't much point in hanging around until 12 when the event starts (but if you want to hang around and chat astro obviously more than welcome.
We'll have scopes for viewing the sun in white light and our hydrogen alpha scope and possibly the moon (it will be above the horizon and away from the sun, so in theory visible. As a sweetener the club will furnish volunteers with a club shirt (just so you look the part). Afterwards we could possible visit one of the local observatories for viewing Saturn and Jupiter (hope to have mine up and running by then!).
Below I've put a suggested time table/slots for volunteers. I'm going to be around pretty much all day. Please let us know which slot(s) you'd like or even if you're around all day.
Time: Task
9am - 10:30 Set up
10:30 - 12 Generally hanging around, playing with the toys, making sure things don't get nicked!
12 - 2pm Solar observing and promotion
2 - 4pm Solar observing and promotion
4 -6pm Solar observing, promotion, packing up
The only other thing that I'd ask any volunteers to commit to is a kind of training session so we are all familiar with solar observing safety, how to operate the equipment, things we'd like to include in promotion talks/material or any other ideas you may have.This could be one evening or during a weekend, only be about an hour or so.
When I've got at least 3 (preferably more) per slot (there's going to be at least 3 scopes to look after) and gazebos are easier to erect with many hands) I'll confirm with you and book the stand.
Hopefully we'll get lots who would like to help. Looking forward to hearing from you so we can make the event a success.
Regards
John
Chair EEAC
