Driftless Stargazing LLC

Sky news for Driftless Area of WI/MN/IA/IL. Driftless Stargazing inspires participants of all ages by getting them wondering and leaving them knowing. John Heasley is an experienced teacher and stargazer who lets people discover their connection with the cosmos in classrooms, libraries, parks, and sidewalks. Driftless Stargazing gets you looking up, remembering the past, and imagining the future.

*Enthusiastic amateur astronomer
*Experienced English teacher of thirty years (Netherlands, Boston, Madison, and Richland Center)
*Educates learners of all ages at Kickapoo Valley Reserve and Taliesin Cultural Program
*Volunteers with NASA/JPL as a Solar System Ambassador Master Teacher, International Astronomical Union as a Dark Sky Ambassador, and serves on the PBS Nova Education Advisory Board
*Trained as Space Educator with UW-Green Bay, Space Education Initiatives, Arizona State University Mars Education Program, and NASA Night Sky Network
*Member of Iowa County Astronomers, International Dark-Sky Association, American Astronomical Society, and Astronomical Society of the Pacific
*Recipient of Astronomical League Outreach Award, Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Aerospace Outreach and Special Initiatives Awards, History Channel's "Ideas from our Educators" Contest, Kohl Teacher Fellowship, and Ripon College Distinguished Educator Award

Six programs are available. I adapt each for your audience. Creating constellations. Girls and boys will discover how humans all over the world have connected the stars into constellations and filled the sky with stories. Participants will create their own legends. Great match for 2020 CSLP theme “Imagine Your Story”. Seize the Night. Becoming a stargazer. Learn what to see, how to see, and how to equip yourself so you can enjoy the night sky. The Many Worlds of our Solar System and Beyond. We tour the planets and moons of our solar system using planetarium software. Women Who Stargaze. Be inspired by the stories of the women who persisted as astronomers and how they shaped our view of the cosmos. Space Rocks. Participants act as scientists to sort through and classify the many “rocks” (planets, asteroids, comets, meteoroids) circling our Sun before taking a look at the “rocks” that fall to Earth. Create craters and examine actual meteorites. Best with smaller group. Star Party. I set up a telescope and binoculars outside in the evening so viewers can see the Moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. I use a laser pointer to give a tour of the constellations. Best in spring and fall with smaller group.