Astronomy Merit Badge: (2 hour visit) Fee $6 - minimum 20

Through a power point presentation, scouts will learn about: how telescopes and binoculars work to enable us to observe objects in the night sky; the different types of astronomical telescopes; the instruments used by NASA scientists to analyze telescope data; and the sun and the moon and how they interact with Earth to cause lunar phases and eclipses.   

In the StarLab planetarium, scouts will learn about: constellations and individual stars and how to locate and identify them in the night sky; and the seas and craters on the lunar surface. 

In the Observatory, scouts will view the moon, some planets, and other objects, as available depending on position and time of year.

 

Space Exploration Merit Badge (2 visits or in one 4 hour visit on a Saturday):

Fee $21 for four hour visit (includes cost of rocket and engine) 

First Visit: 2 hours
Through a Power Point slide presentation, scouts will learn about: the history of US space exploration and the new technologies it has produced; the International Space Station; NASA’s plans for a return mission to the moon and a manned mission to Mars; and the requirements for a manned outpost on another planet.  Via a short movie, scouts will learn about how a launch and flight to the moon are accomplished. Scouts will design and build a model of a manned outpost on another planet.

Second Visit: 2hours
Scouts will assemble and make 2 launches of an Estes model rocket, learning about its parts, their functions, and how physical laws apply to their operation.

DASEF is also prepared to design and schedule overnight experiences at the Environmental Outpost.   Email Lynne Bloom at dasef.outpost@verizon.net  or call (302) 834-1978