The Warren Astronomical Society meets on the first Monday of the month in the auditorium of the Cranbrook Institute of Science.
We simulcast meetings online using Zoom. Meetup charges even more money to set up hybrid meetings, so subscribe to our email list on warrenastro.org to get the Zoom links! Meetings are also livestreaming on our YouTube channel.
At the meetings, we spend the first hour or so of the meeting on club business and observing reports, then have two presentations, one short and one full-length.
Main Talk:
Bringing Space-Based Research Into the Classroom
This presentation will focus on three aspects of Orion’s Quest (OQ), a 501c3 non-profit organization. One, an overview of the history, mission and vision of OQ, and the major players involved. Two, a brief look at NASA, the International Space Station, and connection between, OQ, NASA, and the scientific community. And three, a detailed look at some of the research being conducted in microgravity and how students are involved.
Mr. Thomas Drummond joined Orion’s Quest following a 36-year career in public education as a middle school science teacher and administrator in two different districts in Michigan. Mr. Drummond holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology and Astronomy and a master’s degree in science education and School Administration from the University of Michigan. Thomas also received an
Educational Specialist Degree in Science Education from Wayne State
University.
As a co-founder of Orion’s Quest, he has served as the Chief Operations Officer for the past 21 years and has enjoyed collaborating with scientists, engineers, and astronauts to help create and implement authentic STEM opportunities for students in classrooms across the country and around the world.
Thomas has presented at many conferences including the Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston, TX, and has led teacher workshops at Arizona State University, the University of Colorado, and Stanford University.
Short Talk:
The Archaeoastronomy of the Newark, Ohio Earthworks, a recently designated UNESCO World Heritage Site
A short three-and-a-half-hour drive from the Detroit area is one of the world’s great archaeological sites, the Newark, Ohio Earthworks. It is one of the largest ceremonial earthworks by indigenous people on the planet, built not by a large urban civilization but a people just starting to use agriculture. The Newark Earthworks is the major site of the larger Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site two years ago. The talk will detail the Earthwork’s 18.6 year Lunar alignment and its purpose. Other related indigenous sites will be also discussed. This includes views from the Earthwork’s “Observatory” through its great Octagon and Circle.
Tom Cervenak has been enjoying the hobby of astronomy since the early 1980s. He has a B.A. in Philosophy and received his Masters in Anthropology from Wayne State University. He worked 40 years in the Social Service field serving immigrants, youth, the elderly, and incarcerated individuals. He is now retired, is married and has two adult children. He is a two-year member of WAS and enjoys the great fellowship and its high level of professional interchange.
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If you would like to present either a short talk (10-15 minutes) or a full-length talk (45-60 minutes) at a future meeting, please email Jonathan Kade at firstvp@warrenastro.org.
The views expressed in presentations are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent, and should not be attributed to, the Warren Astronomical Society.
