Back in September and October, three members of the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics spent a week travelling with the WCA's portable planetarium, the Astro-Bubble, sharing astronomy and astrophysics with communities across Northern Ontario.
Liza Sazonova, Cam Morgan, and Roan Haggar, accompanied by the WCA's goosey mascot, brought the Astro-Bubble to four high schools, an elementary school, and a community centre over the course of a week, running live planetarium shows for over 1000 people.
The week was off to a difficult start after the three blew a tire a few hours into their journey, but they managed to make it to Manitoulin Island to visit their first school of the week, Manitoulin Secondary School. This was followed by a trip to Espanola High School on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, where they spent some time speaking with students about the relationship between different Indigenous cultures and the night sky.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent talking to middle school and high school students at Elliot Lake Secondary School, and elementary school students at Blind River Public School. On Thursday night, the Astro-Bubble also popped up in the Blind River Community Centre; after this was picked up by a local newspaper, around 150 members of the community came out to participate in a planetarium show!
The final stop of the week was Central Algoma Secondary School, near Desbarats, ON, where Liza, Cam, and Roan spoke to another 200 high school students about astronomy and astrophysics, before their 700 km journey back to Waterloo. Thank you to all these schools for welcoming the WCA so warmly, we hope to bring the Astro-Bubble on tour again soon!
You can help support the WCA's community outreach efforts by donating to the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics.
