2004 New Haven Science Fair
Special Astronomical category
The Astronomical Society of New Haven/Yale has once again had the honor of reviewing astronomy related projects entered into the New Haven Science Fair. This annual city-wide event is comprised of individual, team, and classroom categories, with participants haling from grades K thru 12.

ASNH/Yale decided to take a more pro-active stance this year, offering a precision telescope with accessories and personal instruction in addition to our usual cash awards. There is a sinister reasoning behind the offer though: by announcing our intentions early in the year, we hoped to motivate a larger number of students to enter the event with astronomy related projects, as those would be the only ones eligible for our prizes!

It is particularly noteworthy that despite the limited resources available to them, these young scientists persevered.

Without further ado, here are the three top placed winners from this category.
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Heather F
Grade 12 Hyde Leadership School
"Sun's Rotational Speed"
Tremaine B and Jonathan W
Grade 9 COOP School
"The Big Impact"
Class representatives Hector S and Jenny L with teacher Shelby Irwin
Grade 3 Dwight School
"Hot Rockets"
Lacking access to a telescope, Heather instead gathered daily solar data from SOHO via the internet, superimposing a plotting grid so as to track and catalog the movement of sunspots across the disk. We were impressed with all aspects of her project, but especially enjoyed perusing her journal.

Though allowed to examine the projects the night prior to the student presentations, and being fairly certain we had found our winners, we returned the next day to "grill" the kids. Not only did Heather pass with flying colors, but we were extremely pleased to discover that this personable young lady had cultivated an interest in astronomy since early childhood. We dared not tip our hand that she was our first place winner...  though we did discretely ask if she planned to be at the evening's ceremonies  (well, as discretely as we old goats can be! :o)

ASNH/Yale President Dave Johnson, his son Hayden, and I (Paul Hyndman AKA "astro-nut") were in the audience while Vice President Al Washburn presented the award: A 6" Dobsonian mounted Newtonian reflector telescope featuring research-grade world-renowned Royce optics, exquisitely crafted instrument-grade fitments, an accessory set of 5 Plossl EPs, 6 planetary filters, a moon filter, 2X Barlow lens, aluminum carrying case, and a one-year ASNH membership. Dave also invited Heather (and her family and friends) for a personal tour and viewing session at the Bethany Observatory, where he will also instruct her in the usage of her new telescope. (Have no fear, she is well aware of solar viewing precautions, and we will be supplying a Baader solar filter... should Heather wish to study the sun first-hand without NASA's help! :o)

We later had the opportunity to meet with Heather's family and instructor, Chris Sagnella... all beaming with pride for her accomplishments. Oh...lest I forget to mention it, Heather also won First Place within her division for the "normal" competiton... good to see others agreed with our assessment!

She plans to begin National Guard basic training this July, helping to fund further education.

Well done Heather... congratulations! 
These two young men impressed us not only with their project, but the level of understanding they imparted during their articulate presentation. This is also a tribute to teacher Martin Corbin and mentor Carolyn White who helped inspire them despite resource limitations (the guys originally considered doing an electronics project, but safety precautions and the lack of equipment dictated otherwise).

Their journal provided an interesting glimpse into the projects's course of determining impact effects using TTT (or to the layman "Tang Tracing Technology :o)  to enhance mapping of the ejecta trails in craters formed during the testing phases.

Meeting with them helped seal the decision to present them with an award... $100 to be split equally between them. What astronomer could possibly ignore "The Big Impact?"

Congratulations gentlemen, and thank you for sharing your work with us!   
For those among us who many years ago launched sodium bicarb rocket salvos of their own, Shelby Irwin's class helped explain the physics and variables behind it all.

A very nice presentation from our congenial young scientists convinced us to present them with a $50 award.

Great job, class! Congratulations!
Closing Thoughts
The winning entrants also received 13" x 19" astro-photos listing their accomplishments and containing an inset of them with their projects. These are intended for display in their respective schools, memorializing the event and motivating other youngsters to follow suit.

Congratulations should also be afforded to the teachers, mentors, sponsors, and those working behind the scenes to make this event possible... well done, all!

I do not yet know how our increased role will be perceived by fellow Astronomical Society members, but from my vantage point the investment in these kids seems well worthwhile. Several teachers have already expressed interest in utilizing the resources ASNH/Yale and our members can provide.

My hope is that we can make the scope presentation an annual event, inducing more young minds to reach for the stars and beyond!