Earth Hour at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology
As part of the promotion of Earth Hour, the Canada Museum of Science and Technology opened the doors to the Helen Sawyer Hogg Observatory and their indoor planetarium. As well, members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Ottawa Centre had telescopes out to show people the stars (and Saturn).
I was volunteering inside with my telescope, explaining how telescopes worked and discussing what could be seen in the night sky. I was also demonstrating the latest iPod/iPad/iPhone astronomy-related applications.
My telescope did have the Earth Hour Owl come and visit.
We also had a table set out with star maps and society information for visitors to take home.
To our surprise, the World Wildlife Fund panda also made an appearance.
The Mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, was also in attendance and came by to see the Earth Hour festivities.
RASC set up a wall of various astronomical images and provided information about the images on display. .
From initial estimates (based on the number of glow-sticks on hand), at least 600 people attended the event. Seats for the Presentation were full all night long, and the line-up to see through the observatory telescope outside lasted well beyond the 10pm event closure.
All in all, it was a fine night to remember and a wonderful night to be a part of the Earth Hour activities