February, 2004

“Optics Educational Outreach Programs in San Diego"

Fleet Science Center
Balboa Park, San Diego

Host: Donn Silberman, Founding Director,
Optics Institute of Southern California
www.oisc.net

 

 

 

“Optics Educational Outreach Programs in San Diego"

Speaker: Aly Evans Director of Educational Programs, Fleet Science Center
Speaker: Donn Silberman Founding Director, Optics Institute of Southern California  

Meeting Agenda
5:30 pm Doors Open – Members & Guests can socialize & explore some exhibits
6:15 – 7:15 - Buffet Style Dinner – more socializing & exploring of demonstrations
7:15 – 7:30 – OSSD Admin. Business, including OSSD Optics Education Grant from OSA
7:30 – 7:55 – Aly Evans – Optics Exhibits & Outreach at the Fleet Science Center
8:00 – 8:15 – Donn Silberman – The Optics Institute of Southern California, Organizing and Implementing Optics Educational Outreach in Southern California
8:15 – 8:45 – Donn Silberman - The Optics Suitcase, OPTRICKS & the OSA / SPIE HOO
8:45 - …… - Open Discussion on OSSD’s Optics Education Outreach Activities

 

 

Meeting Review
by Kelly Cummings
OSSD Science Fair Coordinator

The February meeting was held at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. There was a small to moderate turnout and the buffet provided by Pat and Oscar's Catering provided a good warm meal to get everyone feeling good and happy. The host this evening was Donn Silberman of the Optics Institute of Southern California. www.oisc.net

Donn opened the talk with an overview of "Optics" Educational Outreach as sponsored by the Optical Society of San Diego and by organizations such as the Optics Institute of Southern California, the Fleet Science Center and OSA and SPIE. He talked of the recent grant awarded by the OSA to provide the OSSD with funds to begin a process to further the development of optics education via the OSSD and other participants in Southern California. He then introduced Aly Evans of the Fleet Science Center to discuss the Center's educational efforts.

Aly Evans is the Director of Educational Programs at the Fleet Science Center (www.rhfleet.org) and provided an overview of the offerings of the Center. Over the last five years the Center has expanded to include many new programs for educating the public. With a goal of fostering new teacher learning, Aly listed the expanded Fleet OmniMax Theater, Explorer Zone from San Francisco, the Exhibit Galleries, the Neirman Challenger Leaning Center as well as in-house Workshops and Outreach Programs. She pointed out the printed Science Center Catalog and the Teacher Resource Guide the Center provides as a place to get further details of programs offered and how to make contact with the center to arrange access to these programs. Be sure to visit their web site as well!

Aly also went on to talk about what a busy town San Diego is for the younger set. There are always lots of kids with their families rooming around Balboa Park and they often stop by the Fleet Science Center. For this reason, much of the efforts at the Fleet are directed at the K-12 population and their teachers. Besides the activities listed above, there are films, programs, and workshops for teachers as well as field trips for the students.

The general public also is catered to with programs such as the Family Science Days. These are held on the third Saturday of the month and guided by Fleet Science Center staff. They allow adults and children a chance to work on their own science projects which they can then take home. There is also a Girl Scout Badge Program for both Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts. Successful completion of these workshops fulfill the requirements for the awarding of the badges offered. There are weekend talks and of course The Sky Tonight Planetarium Shows. On the first Wednesdays of the month, the local San Diego Astronomy Society sets up telescopes out on the patio for the general public to use to view the night sky.

With all of this action, the Fleet Science Center has provided a terrific venue for students and teachers to have access to hands on science, much of it focused on optics. In closing, Aly welcomed the OSSD efforts to further optics education and hoped to partner with the OSSD and the OISC to develop more such programs for both students and for teacher training.

 

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Joe Lones of Adroit Engineering took a moment to discuss
Optics Education using an overhead projector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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