I agree with Chuck, most astronomy clubs serve thier members almost exculsively. A lot of Astronomy Clubs do almost all thier public outreach during Astronomy Day or some other yearly activity. SLAS has done a great job on bringing Astronomy to the Public. The only group that might do more are the San Fransico SideWalk Astronomers. We could do less and serve the public well. Over the years our most important source of funding and support has been our membership. We have a very supportive group, save some disagreements. I would also say some of our better speakers did not use powerpoint but rather old-fashioned slides. PowerPoint is not universal at this point, although it is extremely conveinant. Erik I tend to disagree with both of these assessments. Perhaps I am more
selfish about my hobbies, but to me the primary purpose of SLAS is to foster interaction and enjoyment of the hobby with like-minded individuals. I don't share the mindset that if the club isn't an effective public outreach tool it is a failure. It's primary purpose is to serve it's members, not the public at large. Mass education is a lofty goal but SLAS doesn't fail as an astronomy club if there is a "child left behind". Current politics and interaction with the UofU are pulling the club into the direction of outreach more formally, but it need not be the primary reason for the club's existence.
If a particular speaker fails, you can bet that they will propbably not get another opportunity. Any ideas for presentations must be approved and scheduled in advance, so it's not as if there is a big question as to whether it will be a turkey. Most of those capable of giving a good presentation are known to the club movers and shakers. Likewise, those who can't do it are known, too. In practice the chance of real groaner getting scheduled is very, very small.
In my own case, my two most recent presentations were done using only 1/2 page of notes and largely off-the-cuff. There was nothing for a review board to look at in advance. Yet as I recall, both were well-attended and well-received, with much enthusiastic applause afterwards and many personal thanks from members and non-members alike. The binocular astronomy talk was a lot of fun because I asked members to bring their personal observing set-ups and many responded. I also brought in a guest speaker, a local authority on using binoculars for both astronomy and birding. Rich pulled together a list of resources and was a terrific help as well. My prior talk on my ATM techniques was likewise well-recieved and I managed to get my editor at S&T to send a huge box of magazine issues for distribution. Again, it sure seemed to me like those in attendance enjoyed themselves, and there was a very large crowd, much larger than recent attendance.
Member presentations aren't the crapshoot you think they are, Kurt. I remember many exellent ones. I remember no really bad ones.
On 8/22/07, Kurt Fisher <fisherka@csolutions.net> wrote:
There is considerable expertise within SLAS, but if it cannot be communicated to the public, the mission fails. Many members are not in a working position where they exercise their public speaking skills. Presentations have a way of forcing one to organize one thoughts in a written manner and practice the anxiety inducing skill of public speaking.
The downside is that the presentations at general memberships can fail because the speaker is unprepared or, due to the pressures of daily life, prepares at the last minute. The remedy for that would be to require member presentations to be reduced to a Powerpoint that is sent to a SLAS review panel at least one month before a general meeting. WIth a few drafted presentations in hand, the officers could set schedule one or two of the general meetings out of the year for member presentations.
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