April 2018
Gemini Interim
Director Laura Ferraese
(standing, in red pants)
talks about her career
to students at Hilo
High School during
Journey Week. Fellow
panelists include (left
to right): Gemini Safety
Manager John Vierra,
UCLA Astronomy PhD
student (and Hilo High
alumnus!) Devin Chu,
Astrobiology PhD
student Niki Thomas,
W. M. Keck Observatory
Software Engineer Liz
Chock, and W. M. Keck
Observatory Chief
of Operations Rich
Matsuda.
Credit: All images,
Gemini Observatory
78
Janice Harvey and Manuel Paredes
Public Outreach Efforts Soar in
Hawai‘i and Chile
Gemini Observatory’s two key outreach events — one in each
Hemisphere — continue to expand the public’s knowledge of
astronomy and inspire youngsters into STEM careers.
Journey Through the Universe: 14 Years and Counting!
While Gemini’s flagship outreach endeavor — the multi-faceted Journey Through the Universe
program — has evolved from a week-long event to a year-round program, this year’s “Journey
Week” on Hawai‘i’s Big Island was an outstanding success. From March 5-9, 2018, over 80 STEM
professionals from Gemini North and beyond visited over 300 island classrooms. Participating
in this year’s program were staff from the Maunakea observatories, NASA, and several local
universities and research facilities. In total, over 8,000 Big Island students were inspired by Jour-
ney’s activities this year.
In addition to classroom visits, Journey featured a host of educational events and workshops
which went far beyond the Journey Week activities, including Observatory staff “career pan-
els” that focused on the diversity of observatory careers, personal stories, and the excitement
of exploration!
GeminiFocus
January 2019 / 2018 Year in Review