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So what does this have to do with a pilot event

called Skynight held in Dundee, a small city
which does not have any natural connection to
aerospace sector at large?
Skynight was an outreach initiative driven by
three STEM based groups, Dundee Science
centre, who hosted the event, Dundee
Astronomical Society, who provided Ken
Kennedy as a speaker, as well as members who
manned telescopes for the public to use and
DSEA who came up with the initial premise and
organised external speakers.
The event was unorthodox and comprised
space elevators, lunar infrastructure (robotics
and engineering), as well astronomy.
One of the main aims of Skynight, is to attract
an audience who typically are not involved
with STEM activities, but could develop an
interest. Instead of advertising to doctors,
lecturers, teachers and engineers, we aimed
our advertisement strategy towards the
general public, people who work at stores,
offices and so on.
Some people with an existing interest turned
up early for the event, however once the it
officially started at 5pm, an additional 60
visitors attended, most of whom were from
outside the STEM sector.
The first talk was hosted by Michael Laine, CEO
of Liftport. His talk was about the development
of a lunar based space elevator with current
technology. He went on to describe the
economic and humanitarian benefits that
developing the moons infrastructure could
bring to humanity.
Afterwards, attendees were invited to view the
moon through the telescopes. Ken Kennedy
gave a talk entitled Getting to know our
nearest neighbour, which was about the moon
in general, as well as the history of observation
of the moon.
The night concluded with a talk by the mystery
guest speaker, Dr Phil T Metzger, lead research
physicist at NASAs Kennedy Space Centre,
who talked about a variety of subjects. These
included his work on utilising resources on the
moon to build structures, as well as robotics
and his previous work on the Space Shuttle. The
public were encouraged to take part in a lively
Q&A session.
The inclusion of astronomy may at first seem
unnecessary, but its visual nature captivates
people and allows them to easily understand
core concepts which would take hours to
explain via standard text. Astronomy can excite
the layperson in a way that few subjects can. I
say that from a personal perspective, if it was
not for astronomy then I would never have
became an engineer.
It was during 2003 when I was in the Balkans as
a medic with the British Army. On a particularly
uneventful night, whilst on guard, I noticed a
predominantly bright star which seemed to
change positions as the days went by. This
star sparked my curiosity. The star was in fact
the planet Mars and reading more about the
subject, I eventually discovered an article about
NASAs then Mars Exploration Rover Mission.
This kickstarted my interest in engineering and I
left the forces to successfully study for a degree
in aircraft engineering and eventually worked
within the aerospace sector .
Skynight has been the first in a series of
STEAM public outreach events. DSEA, which
manages these events is in the process of
planning several more, with the possibility of
a large international astronomy/engineering
event taking place late 2014 or the beginning
of 2015. They are also in talks with several
science centres throughout the uk to host
similar events, but with a stronger focus on
engineering.
For more information please contact DSEA via
http://on.fb.me/1fosVZx or email me on davie.
evans@hotmail.co.uk
Stars in
their eyes
Skynight Skynight
Skynight, held in April this year, is an
outreach initiative, driven by three
STEM based groups, Dundee Science
Centre, Dundee Astronomical Society
and DSEA, designed to rekindle public
interest in and enthusiasm for work
and developments in the aerospace
engineering sector. David Evans BEng
GradIED attended on the day and
reports on the event.
Interest from the general public at large, in the
aerospace sector and engineering is dwindling
of late. There are many reasons for this, be
it exclusivity within our sector or the ever
growing fast and ready culture within the west,
which we as engineers and scientists have failed
to fully grasp.
The importance of public support may at first
seem unnecessary, but without it focus, as well
as funding from investors, governments, and
political support will continue to decline.
Look at the achievements from NASA during
the 60s, where 11 years after it was formed
they had successfully achieved their goal of
landing a man on the moon and returning him
safely to earth.
There was a sense of wonder, a shared vision
which enveloped not only engineers, but artists,
philosophers, politicians and the public at large.
This combined effort allowed the discovery
of new technologies, which in turn benefited
mankind and provided new economic markets.
However, public support faded as did budgets,
as well focused goals. Look at what has been
achieved by government aerospace agencies
in the past 22 years, then compare that to the
achievements NASA alone made during the
Space Race from 1958 to 1969.