{"id":401,"date":"2020-08-12T16:47:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T23:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rfo.org\/?page_id=401"},"modified":"2024-09-17T05:37:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:37:33","slug":"school-astronomy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/school-astronomy\/","title":{"rendered":"School Outreach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Girl
Student using our solar scope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Robert Ferguson Observatory (RFO), operated by the Valley of the Moon Observatory Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has been in operation since 1996. RFO\u2019s mission is to offer educational science and astronomy programs for students, the public, and in support of educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Students
Students reaching Pluto at our Planet Walk<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

RFO gives steep discounts to schools for programs at the observatory. An evening event includes an observatory tour, presentation, and docent-led viewing through all 3 telescopes, and can include overnight camping in a group campground. Daytime events can include a presentation, observatory tour, solar observing, docent-led Planet Walk, and other activities, depending on the grade level of the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can\u2019t make it to the observatory? Let the observatory come to you! <\/strong>We offer both daytime and evening programs at schools which can include a presentation, solar or nighttime observing, and other activities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"kids
An exciting night of looking at deep-sky objects<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We fulfill our mission of inspiring youth to pursue further education or careers in astronomy and STEM fields through our Young Astronomers<\/a> and Striking Sparks<\/a> programs. Young Astronomers meets monthly and our Striking Sparks program has awarded telescopes to youth in the community annually for 38 years. Students from 1st through 8th grade need to complete an essay, attend at least one event at the observatory, and need to be recommended by their teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We strive to broaden our reach to underserved populations in Sonoma and surrounding counties, and offer our public programs for free to EBT-card holders through the Museums for All program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youth are encouraged to volunteer<\/a> for the observatory which gives them the opportunity to learn how to operate our telescopes, work with the public, and participate in research projects and astrophotography projects.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Demonstrating
Demonstrating how gravity in a black hole works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

School Astronomy Nights and Public Outreach<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Contact Stephanie Derammelaere at sd at rfo.org for more information, and to schedule a School Astronomy Night or other Public Outreach Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Robert Ferguson Observatory (RFO), operated by the Valley of the Moon Observatory Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has been in operation since 1996. RFO\u2019s mission is to offer educational science and astronomy programs for students, the public, and in support of educators. RFO gives steep discounts to schools for programs at the observatory. An … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-401","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2580,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401\/revisions\/2580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}