Comments on: A click a day helps astronomers help kids

By: Joyce McCracken

Joyce McCracken — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:15:23 +0000

It seems that it would be better to go with more states than just Virginia

By: Rachael Beaton

Rachael Beaton — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:09:03 +0000

@ Messier Tidy Upper
Are you offering to translate the book for us ?
We’ve talked about doing other languages – and through personal contacts have some other translators for other disadvantaged regions. The focus on Spanish is partially because so many of the most phenomenal astronomical facilities (and astronomical talent) are located in Spanish speaking areas of the world (Arizona, Canary Islands and Chile being some major examples). We have friends and colleagues at these locations that can help us spread the book.

@Richard Drumm
We’ll get it in the hands of every kid in the country – we just need more money, more time and to finish our theses in there somewhere!

By: Kelsey

Kelsey — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:32:40 +0000

Thanks everyone!
@ Mad Scientist, Messier Tidy Upper, and Richard Drumm:
YES, we absolutely plan to make an electronic version of the book freely available, and this is a great idea for reaching certain demographics. The thing we are concerned about is that a HUGE fraction of the rural kids we’re working with just don’t have internet access at home. We would much rather but a real physical book in their hands that they can curl up with and dream.

We would also love to do other languages, but every different version has a big cost overhead, and we’re trying to keep that low for the moment (but if money fall in our lap, we know how to use it quickly and efficiently!).

AND we would be thrilled to get a copy of this book to every single kid in the country if we could, especially those areas with large Hispanic populations. After overhead, it will cost ~$2 per book to print. We are only limited by money

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:57:23 +0000

MadScientist, don’t worry, that’s the plan! It’s important for us to get it into schools, however, as we realized that many of our students did not have internet access at home. But for those of us that practically live on teh interwebz, it’ll be available as a pdf!

By: Ken (a different Ken)

Ken (a different Ken) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:25:49 +0000

OK, since everyone is saying this doesn’t generate spam, I signed up and voted.

I should also point out that this is education going to the kids of the people who put Cuccinelli in office. Sending some actual science knowledge their way is surely a worthy goal!

By: Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum

Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:17:10 +0000

Uh, Rachel & Nicole, correct me if I’m wrong (still waiting to hear THAT line from a creationist!) but when you wrote “every single third-grader in the county.” Shouldn’t that be “every elementary school library in the state.”???
[confuzzled]
The Pepsi site lists these “Deliverables”:
- 6,750 books delivered, one for every public 3rd grade classroom in Virginia
- 1,250 books delivered, one for every public elementrary school library in VA

I put this worthwhile event in my CAS talk tonight. It’s one of our “Websites of the Month” and I put the link on the CAS website as well. It’s currently in 65th place, so let’s get voting!

Red Hill School is lucky to have Dr. Kelsey Johnson’s kids in attendance. I tried & tried to get my kids’ middle school science teachers interested in having a star party. She was only interested in “teaching to the test” so the Va Standards Of Learning (SOL) scores would make her look good. Disinterested in education, apparently, just interested in keeping her job. The Red Hill Elementary teacher must be a gem! We need more like her!

Now that both my daughters are in high school things may be different. My eldest is taking physics and the teacher has an MS from UVa! He GETS it! W00T!

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:18:44 +0000

I’ve signed up and voted for it. Thanks BA great idea.

One suggestion (which I noted as a comment there under StevoR) why limit it to just two languages? Perhaps they could add a few more?

Looks like we get no less than ten votes there – not quite sure what the deal with that is? One per day remaining? Ten per day? Can we vote for more than one or give all ten to the one project? Not sure.

EDIT : Aha! They *do* have it there – vote for up to ten of your fave ideas per day.

The sign-up rigmarole may put some people off and I’d rather they had it completely open (ie. just ‘click to vote’ without needing any registering) but I guess they’ve got reasons for that. I also find it somewhat ironic that pepsi could be funding a few things linked to kids health – at least one of the projects was something about teaching kids to eat healthy. It didn’t say on that page whether that included telling them not to drink fizzy sugary* soft drinks!

* Yes or artificial chemical sweetners or whatever pepsi uses. I guess you could argue that they’re trying to do the right thing & repair some of the damage & that as an occassional treat in moderation soft drink is okay but hmmm..

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:10:53 +0000

Another thing to do is to make it freely available in a widely readable electronic format. But that might just be my inner commie^H^H^H^H^H^H scientist speaking.

By: Rachael Beaton

Rachael Beaton — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:57:02 +0000

Thanks so much!
You can follow our progress & receive reminders through Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/DarkSkiesBrightKids

Also – Mike – No spam from Pepsi.
I’m signed up as a contact for our grant proposal, as well as for myself, and have not received a single spam message!! Its actually happily surprising!

By: Rachael Beaton

Rachael Beaton — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:50:25 +0000

Thanks so much!

Also – Mike – No spam from Pepsi.
I’m signed up as a contact for our grant proposal and have not received a single spam message! If it had been any other way, we wouldn’t advertise so broadly

Thank you again!