Creating little stargazers

Scouts get a peek at the universe

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Charlie Shoemaker⁄The Gazette Christopher Guzman, 10, of Damascus peers at the moon’s craters through the lens of a telescope set up in a Damascus church parking lot Sunday night.

The youngsters attended a Telescope Star Party thrown by volunteers working to help the boys earn astronomy awards. The event was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Damascus.

Cub Scout Patrick Walker, 8, of Damascus saw the moon close-up for the first time through one of seven telescopes set up for the evening.

‘‘I learned about the planets. I have not learned much about them before,” said the Pack 1438 member. ‘‘I definitely learned what the moon looked like.”

His father Chris, 44, and his sister Alice, 5, also learned about the universe.

‘‘We are not an island,” said Chris Walker. ‘‘We are part of a much larger world, and our world is still a small part of the universe. We need to keep that in mind.”

Gary Hand, owner of Hands on Optics in Damascus, organized the event with the local Knights of Columbus.

‘‘Many of the kids have never looked through a telescope before and it’s kind of an opportunity,” he said. ‘‘They can get expensive so a lot of families don’t buy them. This is one way to actually get them to try something. It is like going to an amusement park for the first time.”

Before the Scouts got an up-close look at the galaxy, Hand gave 15-minute astronomy lesson while the youngsters ate doughnuts and drank hot chocolate. The information learned will help the boys in their quests to earn Scout recognition.

The Cubs are studying for their astronomy belt loops and the Boy Scouts are pursuing astronomy merit badges. A test will determine which Scouts learned enough to receive the honors.

After the lesson, the Scouts went outside to explore the galaxy.

Woody Inscoe, the cub master of Pack 1084 from Damascus Elementary School, said the experience should increase the boys’ knowledge of the solar system. He said it was great to expose children to the telescope and possibly ignite a future love for science.

‘‘It sparks interest,” Inscoe said. ‘‘It gets them involved with the world around them. As a parent, I am often doing battle against Game Boy and PlayStation. An event like this provides enough stimulation and it grabs enough interest to get them away from that, and experience things out here in the real world.”