The Sunshine Coast Chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) welcomes Francesca Crema, whose topic will be Cosmic Rays in the Classroom: My experiences with muons, variable stars, and project-based learning.
The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. on April 14, at the Sunshine Coast Art Centre, 5714 Medusa St., Sechelt.
Francesca is a 17-year-old Grade 12 student participating in Templeton Secondary’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program in Vancouver who intends to pursue a career in the sciences (specifically, high-energy particle physics). Francesca is the youngest at-large council member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, serving on the council of the RASC’s Vancouver centre as their youth rep.
Ever since joining her school’s STEM program, Francesca has received the opportunity to research and analyze data collected from a cosmic ray detector, and is currently studying spectroscopy and photometry at the SFU Trottier observatory. Francesca has been updating old data (e.g.: radial velocity, apparent magnitude) on RT Aurigae. Because her school’s STEM program has provided her with these opportunities and more, she will also talk about it and detail the benefits of project-based learning. Her talk will detail her experiences with these projects, as well as provide an introduction to the scientific principles – from elementary particles to variable stars – that they are based on.
Admission is free; donations gratefully accepted at the door.
See more about the Sunshine Coast RASC at www.coastastronomy.ca or contact Sunshine Coast RASC president Charles Ennis at cuhulain@ telus.net
