TAKE THE 'A' TRAIN TO ThE STARS 
 -----------------------------
 John Pazmino
 NYSkies Astronomy Inc
 nyskies@nyskies.org
 www.nyskies.org
 1988 July 30 

    This is the presentation by John Pazmino and Sidney Scheuer at the 
IAU conference 'The teaching of astronomy'. It convened on 1988 July 
27-30  at Williams College, chaired y Jay Pasachoff and John Percy. 
Text is from conference procedings, edited by Pasacgiff and Percy. 

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TAKE  T H E  "A"  T R A I N 1  TO  T H E STARS
  John  Pazmino  and Sidney  Scheuer 
  Amateur  Astronomers  Association,
 1010 Park  Avenue
 New York, NY 10028, U.S.A

 Ed. Note: The "A" train is one of the New York subway routes that  
serves Harlem; it was made especially famous by Duke Ellington's  jazz  
piece "Take the "A" Train. The  authors can provide detailed  
information about the  "A" train for any readers who have a special  
interest in this topic.] 
.   Astronomers, in addition to their scholarly and academic  
functions,  have the mission to bring enlightenment to the people. In 
the City of New York, astronomers fulfill this mission through the 
Amateur Astronomers Association. Over the decades, the Association,  
or AAA, evolved  a  multi-faceted scheme of public enlightenment  in  
astronomy.  Under this scheme, astronomy  in New York City has become  
a free-standing cultural amenity on a par with street fairs, art 
shows, plays, and parades. 
    Once a month during the school year, the Association presents a 
formal public lecture on astronomy. These  are  convened in the 
American Museum  of  Natural History, the ancestral  birthplace of the 
AAA. Occasionally, lectures are featured at a large  university  in 
the City for time and place variety. At these  lectures, a 
professional astronomer explains some contemporary  topic  on  a 
first-year college level, illustrated by slides and viewgraphs.  The 
lectures  - and all public activities of the AAA -- are free of  any 
charge. Area high schools and colleges employ the AAA lectures  as an 
extra-curricular activity for their students. 
    In  the summer, the AAA stages public  stargazing in Carl Schurz 
Park, along the East  River in  Manhattan. Though located in the dense 
Upper East Side, Carl Schurz Park offers clear views of about two-
thirds of the sky with adequate shielding from nearby lights. These  
sessions, convened monthly in clear weather, feature the celestial  
sights of the season  the Moon, planets, clusters and nebulae,  and  
double stars.  Telescopes and charts are provided by the AAA. 
    The  Amateur Astronomers  Association operates the astronomy 
program at Gateway National Recreation Area under contract with the 
U.S. National Park Service. The parklands and preserves of Gateway  
stretch along the southern frontier of New York and offer clean  dark  
skies for the urban dweller. The programs include popular-level  
slideshows, equipment demonstrations, skywatching tutorials, and  
clear-weather star-viewing. Staff for the Gateway activities is drawn  
from  the  AAA's Brooklyn and Staten Island Chapters. 
    National Astronomy Day is a theme day celebrated in April or May 
each year. In New York, National Astronomy Day is hosted by a museum,  
park, or school while the AAA provides the astronomy program.  In 
conjunction with the host facility, this program includes  slidetalks, 
equipment and project exhibits, panels and seminars, flea markets, and  
viewing of sunspots by day and the stars by night. Sometimes movies, 
videos, and planetarium shows round out the day's activities. 
    The AAA maintains a panel of experienced speakers available for 
other clubs, museums, schools, and social and civic groups. Speakers  
may be AAA members or patron astronomers. The panel can supply a 
single person to give a simple slidetalk or it can cater to an  all-
day  astronomy fair with a corps  of astronomers. Speakers-panel  
services are customized to suit the client.  Fees  for  speakers-panel  
service are quite  attractive  to  even  the smallest client. 
    The Association serves the news media by explaining and 
interpreting astronomy events like comets, novae, and eclipses.  News 
media obtain quick authoritative answers to their questions  and  they 
can engage the AAA for press interviews or radio/TV appearances. The 
press, both national and local, routinely carry notices of  AAA public 
activities. The Associations's interpretation mission  extends also to 
consultations for outside  authors and exhibitors 
    Astronomers who serve with the Amateur Astronomers Association 
directly fulfill  one major goal of their profession- to bring 
enjoyment and edification  in  astronomy  to the people. If  you have 
this goal, too, do  consider membership in the  Amateur Astronomers 
Association. For membership details or for  exploring other ways to 
practice public service astronomy  through  the AAA -- contact us.