Here is a NORTH chart
Print version button
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:20AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Activity : Teacher Preparation for Astronomy Night steps to help make your family event a great learning experience for all ages.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:20AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Teachers there will be FOUR different activities available to you for the Family Astronomy night online and one LIVE activity out under the starry sky. You can direct your guests to whichever activities are of most interest to you for their learning enjoyment. You are their OUTPOST LEADER for the night, and their guide, so go ahead and decide which activities you want to emphasize for your event.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:21AM PST (-0800 GMT)
FIRST ACTIVITY from the main portal, in the (#2) TRAIL GUIDE CHAT section, under FAMILY CHAT, we will have Camp staff and directors live in a ***CHAT***to answer any family questions, 6-8pm.
SECOND ACTIVITY also in the same room is an ASTRONOMY INTERNET ***DIG*** and those questions and challenges will be at the top of the page. It is fine for them to post answers to the *dig* or their own questions to *chat* in that room we will be watching to assist with both.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:21AM PST (-0800 GMT)
THIRD ACTIVITY also accessed from the same TRAIL GUIDE / FAMILY CHAT room, right near the top, will be a LINK to a special ***FAMILY SKY CHART ROOM *** where the astronomy night sky star charts will be posted. These are LARGE graphic images and would bog down the main chat room, so for families that want to identify a constellation or star that night, point out to them the link to see a *star chart*
.. Once they have selected a constellation to identify, they can go out side and try to find it. Better yet if you can also print out the charts in advance and recommend the easiest constellation to identify in your area, the higher their success rate will be. Once they have found a match to a star of constellation, or have something to say about the blue moon or a visible planet we welcome them to post a WE FOUND IT online back in the main chat room. (Everyone will have something to post even if about the blue moon)
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:22AM PST (-0800 GMT)
FOURTH ACTIVITY students can showcase how they use any part of Camp Internet they want to demo to their parents, or show them their own postings in the chat archive.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
NOTE : The THIRD ACTIVITY is the one that requires preparation to make it successful. The BEST preparation is for you yourself to spend some time under the stars the nights before the event so you can decide which constellations or stars are easiest to see from your location. To HELP YOU, we are posting a few star charts here in the TRAIL GUIDE / FAMILY CHAT room up until late Wednesday night. There will be a NORTH view, an EAST VIEW, and a WEST view for you to select a constellation to identify and get familiar with. On Wednesday we will add a SOUTH view to help you see the placement the moon will be during the event.
..
In the next few days up to Wednesday, if you go out around 8:00-9pm to watch the stars, it will be similar to what you will see 6-8pm on Thursday when you are at the Family Night. You will be looking to determine from the schools site which direction will have the best view of the sky, and how high or low the horizon will be. Then with that preferred direction in mind, select one of the teacher-prep star charts below that match the same direction, and begin hunting for a bold constellation that will become the cornerstone of your night viewing
. We noticed that CASSIOPEIA is a good bold triangle on the north-east sky now to start with, that DEPHINUS is a good bold diamond above the horizontal stars of AQUILA on the WEST horizon, and that to the east, the bold star Cappella is helping make AURIGA easier to see, plus the dense cluster of the Pleiades are right above it. Since the full moon will be bold on the south horizon, we arent planning to identify stars there as they will be very hard to see in the bright moon light.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
HOW TO BEGIN Your Preparation --- decide which direction is best to face from your school, then select one of the star charts below ( and a star wheel if you have one). On the chart, pick a bold constellation; study its prominent stars. Then draw it on a piece of paper. Go out side with a flashlight, a star chart, and your drawing and hold it overhead until you find a match. You will have to rotate it this way and that until you get the match .. keep scanning .. suddenly it will jump right out at you! Once you have it as your anchor, it will be easy to begin pointing out other nearby constellations from your star chart.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:24AM PST (-0800 GMT)
If you find one star chart the best for your use, it will be easier to print it out from here in advance and make hand outs. Use the *print version* link to reach a single image for printing.
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:24AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is a NORTH chart Print version button
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is an EAST chart - 
Print version button
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is a WEST chart - 
Print version button
Your Camp Guides: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 7:26AM PST (-0800 GMT)
If you have any questions, post them here and we will be checking in to help you prepare for a fun Family Night ! PS star and moon shaped cookies and apple cider are recommended for this late fall event. Send us pictures of the generations working together online for our Family Fun Gallery !
Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Fri, Nov 23, 0:33PM PST (-0800 GMT)
If you want to PRINT out the send-home announcement flyer, you can open it at this button (but note, it will close you out of this browser and you will need to open a new one to come back in here, so save opening this link until end of your visit)
Click here for Help. *Go to the WebChat Home Page *About this Server
