Ford School students attend Star Party with Harvard astrophysicist

LYNN – Students at the Ford school recently celebrated with the stars, but they were nowhere near Hollywood.The school staff, with the help of Bruce Ward of the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Center for Astrophysics, held a Star Party for students and their families at the High Rock Tower on May 20.Participants were able to view Saturn and three of its moons as well as Venus and Mars through the High Rock telescope and telescopes that were set up around the base of the tower supplied by Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB).”Students were extremely excited when their eyes lay upon Saturn’s rings for the first time through the telescope,” Ford teacher Jennifer McCarthy said. “Also, the moon’s craters caused an animated reaction due to their size.”Due to the success of the party, future star parties are planned to view autumnal celestial events.The Ford School, in conjunction with the Harvard College Observatory, has been participating in a study focused on the best science teaching practices as well as tracking students over the course of several years in regards to their career interests and attitudes towards science, technology engineering and math.”Students at the Ford School meet weekly to participate in labs that focus on light and to utilize the Harvard MicroObservatory online telescopes,” McCarthy said. “Students can access four telescopes located in Cambridge as well as in Amado, Arizona and take pictures of planets, the moon and galaxies for further investigations.”