2023 Statewide Star Party – Astronomy for All

Thank you to our 2023 panelists Vince Diaz, Jim Rock and Gaagige Aanakwadikwe for an enticing talk about Paafu, Dakota and Ojibwe star relationships and interconnectedness. Missed this webinar? Watch the recording at the link below:

Watch the recording

Jim Rock (Dakota). Jim has taught astronomy, chemistry and physics for four decades in urban, suburban and reservation communities at high schools and universities. He is the Director of Indigenous Programming for the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium and Instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Rock’s goal is to “Indigenize and Digitize the Skies.” He teaches courses in Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy for the University Honors and Physics and Astronomy Departments. Jim is also co-advisor for AISES, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society at UMD.  In 2014, he co-authored a text called the D(L)akota Star Map Constellation Guide. He has co-published several journal articles with his wife Dr. Roxanne Gould concerning the collaborative restoration and interpretation of Dakota sacred mound and cave sites (2016, 2017, 2018). He has also taught in the American Indian Studies, Education and Religion departments at Augsburg College and previously taught Native Skywatchers, Astronomy and American Indian philosophy at Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and Masters of Education courses at University of St. Thomas and Augsburg/UMD.

Vince Diaz is the founder and director of The Native Canoe Program, housed in the Department of American Indian Studies. This program uses traditional Indigenous watercraft and Indigenous water-based ecological knowledge and technology from across Oceania and the Native Great Lakes and Mississippi River to advance community-engaged research, teaching, and service. This program also mixes hands-on, experiential learning and teaching with advanced visualization technologies of Virtual and Augmented Realities, through collaboration with UMN’s Interactive Visualization Lab, headed by Prof. Daniel Keefe of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

He is an interdisciplinary scholar (History, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Comparative and Global Indigenous Studies) who specializes in critical indigenous studies in North America and the Pacific Ocean region. He has researched and published in topics such as Indigenous Critical Theory; Traditional Outrigger Canoe Voyaging in Micronesia; Coloniality and Indigenous Christianity in Micronesia; Indigenous Masculinity and Sports in the Pacific; and Trans-Indigenous Theory and Practice.

Gaagige Aanakwadikwe (Winonah Ojanen, she/her) is an Ojibwe immersion and science educator. She teaches at the Misaabekong Ojibwe immersion school in Duluth, Minnesota teaching in full Ojibwe immersion and developing science and astronomy curriculum in the Ojibwe language. She is also the Native American Initiatives specialist for the Bell Museum, and travels to teach Ojibwe astronomy shows in the Bell Museum’s traveling planetarium. Aanakwadikwe has completed previous Research Experience Undergraduate internships in astronomy, and now works to integrate her astronomy research and knowledge into education and describing concepts from the Ojibwe language and perspective.

We invite you to join us Friday, August 11,  9:30–11:30pm for the Bell Museum’s in-person Star Party! Centering on this year’s Statewide Star Party theme, “Astronomy for All,” we will host a number of activities that reflect on cultural astronomy and encourage us to embrace the astronomer within all of us.

Learn more

Planetarium Shows

In our planetarium, our expert astronomy team will guide you through the night sky and highlight some cosmic sights.

Activities

Take part in hands-on activities throughout the evening! Learn how light bends when it interacts with water, complete the Summer Sky Scavenger Hunt and enter for a chance to win a cool prize, and come together in creativity to make your contribution to a community art piece!

Telescopes

Continue the evening outside with telescopes on the Ruth & John Huss Observation Deck (weather permitting), where our astronomy team will guide you through observations of the same celestial objects that have inspired sky-gazers throughout history!

HOST SITE RESOURCES

• Galaxy Activity – Help guide attendees as they add their unique artwork to a community painting.
• Light Refraction Activity – Instruct guests as they learn how light bends when it interacts with water.
• Sky Scavenger Hunt Activity – Guide attendees as they explore the late summer night sky.
• Handouts & Additional Resources – Get everything you need to host your star party!
• Host Site Webinar – Watch the recording and prepare for hosting your star party.

TONIGHT’S SKY

• Clear Sky Charts – Will tonight’s sky be clear? Find a chart for your location.
  
• TimeAndDate.com – Astronomical information for various locations, including rise and set times for Sun, Moon, planets.
• StarDate’s Moon Page – Illustrations of lunar phases for a given month, Moon FAQs

EDUCATOR RESOURCES

• Night Sky Explorer Junior Ranger Booklet – Excellent activities to introduce youth to learn about the night sky! Download a free PDF.
• Stellarium – Download free planetarium software for your computer.
• NATIVE SKYWATCHERS – Indigenous-led organization which seeks to remember and revitalize star and earth knowledge. Star maps, guides and other resources: https://nativeskywatchers.com/resources.html
• Bell Museum Current Star Map – Free to download.
• JWST – Multimedia resources demonstrating science behind the telescope, hosts scientific images.
• Starry Skies North – Fostering Minnesota-based community groups to protect dark skies and become IDA-certified chapters.
  
  
• SciGirls in Space – Watch videos to inspire the next generation of of STEM superstars.
  
  
• GLOBE at Night – Participate in a citizen-science campaign to measure light pollution.
• International Dark-Sky Association – Resources and activities on light pollution, including free check-out of pop-up displays.
• Astronomy Picture of the Day – Makes a great home screen page.