Astronomy on the Walls

JESSICA SANTASCOYsantajess@gmail.com

@jessicasuzette415-640-6419

Slideshow based on a presentation at the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena (INSAP) Conference VIIIAmerican Museum of Natural History, NYC in July 2013 Slideshow designed in Dec 2014; a paper will be published in 2015

Using Art for Outreach

This slideshow can be used anywhere in the world and in numerous ways for multiple audiences. Your creativity is the limit. Hide or skip slides you don’t want to use. Amateur astronomers, parents, teachers, and anyone who is interested can use these materials.

Here are two ideas. For adults, a straightforward presentation of the mural slides is easy. When I gave this presentation at the INSAP conference at the National Museum of Natural History in New York City, people responded with enthusiasm during the presentation and the dialog. For children and teens, try this simple activity. First, show the participants the slides, while giving them a bit of background supplied by this essay or the slideshow notes. Then provide them with a variety of materials such as crayons, paper, craft paper and pens, or even natural materials such as grass, tree bark and feathers. Ask the participants to create their own sky stories. I have done such activities with people of all ages with delightful results. Time constraints can hamper outreach, so activities must be quick to implement (Santascoy et al., 2011). These activities fit the bill.

I hope you enjoy the mural slideshow and the activities! - Jessica Santascoy

How to use this slideshow

Discover the Secrets of the Universe Through your Library, mural by Carlos Callejo (1994)

Slideshow by Jessica SantascoyPhotos: Jessica Santascoy & Joe Cieplinski

What is your sky story?

ResourcesFraknoi, Andrew 2013-2014, Unheard Voices Part I: The Astronomy of Many Cultures, A Resource Guide http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/multicultural.

Staal, Julius D.W. The New Patterns in the Sky. Myths and Legends of the Stars. McDonald & Woodward, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1988. (book)

Find your local astronomy club at the NASA Night Sky Network website nightskynetwork.org

EarthSky has easy-to-read, earthsky.org

� To my family: Nicholas Santascoy, Rebecca Santascoy & Joe Cieplinski� Brian Abbott, Assistant Director, Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History� Martha Andrade, Manager, El Paso Public Library - Armijo Branch� Carlos Callejo, Artist� Suzy Gurton, Astronomy Education Manager, Astronomical Society of the Pacific� Diana C. Leyva, Library Information Senior Specialist, El Paso Public Library - Armijo Branch� Elizabeth Stachow, Executive Assistant to Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium,

American Museum of Natural History

Thanks