Binoculars are an ideal first telescope. Modern day binoculars are better optical tools than Galileo's first astronomical telescope. The Moon, the moons of Jupiter, bright nebulae, and galaxies can all be observed with binoculars. Students will learn how to use binoculars and where to look for some of these objects in the current night sky. If the weather is cloudy, groups will look at the stored computer images, tour the observatory and its control room, learn about telescopes and observe spectra.
Programs normally run for an hour to an hour and a half.
There is a two-dollar charge per student. It is time to start planning next year's visits to the Regional Science Center's Buffalo River Site. We will begin taking reservations for fall of 2001 and spring of 2002 from Minnesota schools on May 1, 2001. Non-Minnesota schools may make reservations starting on May 7, 2001. We will offer half-day programs for children in Kindergarten through second grade.