St Domincs hosts biggest astronomy event in SA

“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it,” said 19th century journalist, Margaret Fuller.

Tyrique Kistadu is the first guest to get a look at the moon through the Celestron telescope. He is being assisted by his mum, Dhiniksha.

It is with this sentiment in mind that St Dominics hosted its third annual Astronomy Evening on Saturday, sharing expert astronomy knowledge with the community and welcoming the general public to enjoy the great facilities the school has to offer.

This year’s event had some great new additions to program. Besides the lectures conducted by astronomy experts, Timothy Cooper and Angus Burns, as well as an interactive, practical demonstration of Celestron’s telescopes by Frank Barbato, there were also astronomy themed games for younger children and a tech area complete with virtual reality headsets, bots and drones for older children.

Event organiser, Shirley McGhee, who is the head of St Dominics Primary School, praised Burns, who is instrumental in putting the event together, as an incredible, community orientated astronomer and ‘just a great person’.

“The idea behind this year’s event was to create vibe that celebrates the community coming together,” said McGhee, adding that an estimated two thousand people attended Saturday’s Astronomy Evening, twice as many as last year.

“One of the biggest draw cards is the fact that Celestron gives away R36 000 worth or telescopes at the event. In this way, we are able to share, not just knowledge, but also valuable scientific resources with the community,” added McGhee.

Burns described the highlight of the event as the fact that, while it is hosted by a particular school, it is open to absolutely everybody to attend free of charge.

According the Burns, St Dominics Astronomy Evening is now the biggest astronomy event in the country.

“It is rare to have a science event with that kind of hype. What really contributed to the success of the event is that it was literally like a festival. It had a real festival vibe and was a wonderful effort to demonstrate the value of science and to show the public how interesting and fun science can be,” he said.

Burns thanked the astronomers who gave up their time free of charge for an opportunity to share their valuable knowledge. He also thanked Celestron for their generous sponsorship of three telescopes that were won by learners from different schools in a lucky draw.