Notes, Open House Meeting
Openhouse locations discussed include the Machine Shop, Electronics Lab, GBT control Room, GBT (inside the fence), ScienceCenter, Anechoic Chamber/Antenna Test Range, Reber and Jansky Antennas, 140 Foot, Jansky Auditorium for movies?
We’ll need to make Maps with stops indicated. People can get a ticket at each stop to be used to put in for door prizes raffle.
1. Machine shop: Need 2 people. We’ll need to pay people overtime to come in (8 hours). Show and Tell: Feeds ( before- raw aluminum and after) made by lathe, parts made by milling machine. Would be cool to make something simple. Have a couple of machines going. Could then be a door prize. Something like an aluminum logo. Show Mike Bill’s 50th medallion design. People would be routed through the entrance to the shop, then out through the carpenter’s shop. Turn off machines in the carpenter’s shop at the breakers.
2.. E. Lab Will have 2-3 stops, interactive demos there.-- Get Ron to come over from CV to show new pulsar machine?
3. GBT Control Room-- 2 people? Have Balcony Open. Have all operator’s screens open. Demo the audio of the receiver room.
4. GBT. 2 people needed down there. Need to get inside the gate of the GBT to make the day special. Hardhats not needed is we stay outside the drip line? Schedule and publicize move times. Pick a few bright pulsars to observe, and go between them through-out the day. Broadcast sounds over speaker.
5. Anechoic Chamber is cool. Will need someone there. Map could include a walk to the AntennaTestRange then to Anechoic via outside door.
6. . Someone at the Reber and Jansky Antennas.
7. 140’ tipped over. If the bus is to stop there, then we need a couple of people there, in case someone needs to be escorted to the bathroom.
8 ScienceCenter will include: Computer Science exhibit, Wesley outside with RFI exhibit, scheduled talks and demos in the auditorium, StarLab, as well as engineering activities like “make a tower out of gumdrops and tooth picks.” How to make the Computer Science Cool—set up in the ScienceCenter with an exhibit: Computers then and now, or perhaps an activity in the Computer Lab. Tickets required for time slots to prevent overcrowding in the lab.
10. Food: Hotdogs, Drinks ( lemonade and iced tea) Cookies, served outside—back entrance?
11. Should we somehow display practical spin-offs from radio astronomy? Economic Benefit to the area? Funding? How small it really is? Jay says recommended reading is Woody’s Cultural Significance of Radio Astronomy article. Sue Ann will share this. She has copies.
12. T-shirt for staff—50th t-shirt design. Can sell these as well.
13. Time capsule? YES!
14. Need parking people. Need first aid available- talk to Janet.
15. Need GBT handout—Jay
16. Removable tattoos?
17 Irish Road Bowling trounament?
18. Other exhibits? DNR- Deer teeth aging, results of controlled Hunt? Ask Mike Holstine.
19. Special Speaker? Seth Shostak?
20. Door Prizes instead of a cheap give-aways. Kids get tickets for completing activities, can place the tickets in buckets of prizes they want—could include 6” dobsonian telescope, sky atlases, cool science toys, nice stuff.
21. Digital Cameras will not be allowed in the Radio Astronomy Zone. Richard has authorised the purchase of “cardboard cameras” to give away to people. We’ll look in to customizing the cameras for the event.
22. Need tickets for things like StarLab, GBT Control Room, GBT tour.
Invitations to:
Sugar Grove
CountyOfficials
Snowshoe management
Senator Byrd and Rockefellar
Reporesentative Rahall, Governor Macnhin
NSF? Talk to CV.
Collaborators? Mustang, MIT, UCinn. Maryland.
Publicity in Newspapers, CVB., radio stations.