GeminiFocus 2018 Year in Review | Page 78

Gemini Outreach Assistant Alyssa Grace (right) prepares families before they enter our StarLab portable planetarium for a show on the current night sky. Gemini North astronomers Julia Scharwaechter (center) and Kristin Chiboucas (right, in black) watch children make marks (representing galaxies) on a balloon, which they used to understand how the Universe expands. in hands-on astronomy-related activities, or be entertained by demonstrations offered by the staff at all of the Maunakea observatories. At the Gemini booth, we received hun- dreds of guests, many of whom (especially children) took in a star show inside of our StarLab portable planetarium, modeled the expanding Universe with balloons and markers, sorted galaxies by morphology, 76 GeminiFocus and colored images of Kea and Pachón — the twin mascots of our twin telescopes. “My first AstroDay experience did not disap- point,” said Gemini North outreach intern Hannah Blomgren. “It was rewarding to see the passion and enthusiasm of the astrono- my community out in full force, and to watch that excitement being transferred to others. I was reminded of how vital these connec- January 2019 / 2018 Year in Review