Pride
I was delighted to offer my new Louisburgh and The Universe workshop as part of the Louisburgh Pride Of Place 2024 event. This community day was part of a country-wide contest encouraging groups to take Pride in their communities in a practical way. As the Perseid Meteor Shower was just days away I decided to link that to the workshop. We went about creating our fingertip meteors.
Place
We had a trip through the Universe, which involved our galaxy and where Louisburgh exists within it. We looked at our solar system, our sun, which gives us life and sustains us on the planet without spacesuits. Our planet is like our very own special spacecraft protecting us for life. And they understood that we need to look after our planet in return. They agreed wholeheartedly.
Together, we looked at where Ireland was in the world, where Mayo was in the world, and where we were, right down to the building we were in. We finally landed in the meeting room of the local GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). There, we learnt about the importance of life on Earth, the preservation of our dark skies, Louisburghs Place, and Pride in all of it. Then, the children drew their own simple Perseid Meteor Shower maps.
Pencil Drawing
The children and adults drew along with me, adding dots for stars and lines to enforce the shape of the constellations. We drew the BIG W of Cassiopeia and the constellation Perseus. I was happy if they just put down the BIG W as it was a mixed-age group of children. With their fingertips holding their pencils, they all created simple maps to use later if the sky was clear. We included the area the meteors would generally come from. Doing something practical like drawing enhances the learning process for my audience, no matter what age they are.
Fingertip Meteors
To finish, we pretend our fingertips are meteors interacting with Earth’s atmosphere. A huge Earth ball became the focus of fun after all their work. The ball had to be deflated to get it through doors and into my car, then pumped up again in situ. I played some classical music to enhance the atmosphere in the room. It was great fun altogether. My presentation was dedicated to the memory of Professor Carolina Ödman Govender. Carolina sent me the Earth Ball several years ago. It was part of a UNAWE initiative, Universe Awareness for Young Children. I had used it in Dunsink Observatory and other suitable venues.
I first met Carolina at Leiden University when I was there for an educator’s week. Over the years, we became friends. She was a wonderful person, full of fun, and an excellent communicator. Carolina supported my work in many ways, even coming to Ireland to open an International sketching exhibition for me in 2009 at Birr Castle Co Offaly. —many thanks to the GAA for letting me use the room, a wonderful community to live in.
