Sep 23rd, 2009
Children’s Moon book launch becomes IYA2009 public outreach tour
July 2009 brought many tributes and events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. This month was also chosen for children’s astronomy author, Bob Crelin of Guilford, CT, to release his new book, Faces of the Moon (Charlesbridge), and his new invention, the Moon Gazers’ Wheel.
With a busy July/August schedule of bookstore and museum appearances, Bob brought along a handful of telescopes (with operators) to each author event. The goal was to offer the public a chance to view the Moon through a telescope. As a result, many children and adults looked through a telescope for their first time. The Moon they viewed was either the actual Moon in the sky, if available, or a high-resolution photo of the Moon mounted on a black background, which was hung up high at a distance. Viewers became equally excited when viewing either one!
Bob’s author events for Faces of the Moon were very successful and well attended. His appearances included the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC as part of the Apollo 11 weekend celebration. Hundreds of museum attendees looked through the telescope that day – and subsequently bought up all the copies of the book that were available. The excitement generated for the Moon, and for telescopes at these events was clear, and it was brought home by the young, and old.
Bob Crelin is also the author of the children’s book, There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars, an educational outreach resource used by the IYA2009 Dark Skies Working Group, of which he is an active member.
Thursday, 9/24 Faces of the Moon will be featured on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. There’s also a great TV discussion of the book from Better Connecticut, available at the WFSB-TV website.
For more information about Bob Crelin, Faces of the Moon, and the Moon Gazers’ Wheel, head to http://BobCrelin.com and http://Charlesbridge.com
