2015 Northern Training Workshop

Northern RECON Training Workshop
Pasco, Washington
Thursday-Sunday, April 16-19, 2015

During this four-day training workshop, representatives from 30 RECON teams in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California will join together to learn more about the project, train on telescope and camera systems, and plan for future coordinated occultation campaigns. Representatives from five of our pilot RECON communities will attend to provide mentoring and support to our 25 new teams. All teams within driving distances should plan to bring their RECON equipment with them (see details below) to use during the training. Note that it is particularly important that new communities bring a vehicle that can carry a telescope crate we will be providing at the workshop with the following dimensions: 37″ L x 22.75″ D x 23.25″ H. Participants will then return home to train other members of their community, thereby establishing a robust network of occultation astronomers across the western United States. The training workshop will be held at the Bechtel National Planetarium and Moore Observatory, which are located on the Columbia Basin College campus in Pasco, and at LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory.

Register Here

CONFERENCE LOCATION AND DATES:

Bechtel National Planetarium and Moore Observatory
Columbia Basin College
2600 North 20th Ave.
Pasco WA 99301
Telescopes can be dropped off at the Planetarium on Thursday morning anytime after 11:15AM
Conference begins Thursday, April 16 at 1PM
Conference ends Sunday, April 19 at 12:30PM
Meals will be provided Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch

SCHEDULE:
Preliminary Workshop Schedule

HOTEL LOCATION:
Red Lion Richland Hanford House
802 George Washington Way
Richland WA 99352
Tel: (509) 946-7611
Check in Thursday April 16 at 5PM

MAP WITH DIRECTIONS FROM HOTEL TO COLUMBIA BASIN COLLEGE:

Click here for interactive map of directions.

RECON EQUIPMENT TO BRING:
Below is a list of RECON equipment that will be shipped to each community in advance of the workshop.  For the communities that that are not receiving telescopes, only Item 3 below applies:

  1. Telescope, tripod, and telescope accessories (power cable, hand-paddle, T-adapter, diagonal, eyepiece, etc) — These all came in two Celestron boxes shipped in January – one with telescope and accessories and the second with the tripod.
  2. Dewshield—This should come in a third box shipped in February from Starizona.
  3. Camera, Computer, and Accessories Box — This came in two packages shipped from SouthWest Research Institute in March or April.  One was a brown box containing a see-through plastic container with accessories.  The second was a white laptop computer box.

At the conference, we will provide each community that received a CPC-11 telescope with a large container to bring the telescope home in.  The outside dimensions of this container are 37″ L x 22.75″ D x 23.25″ H.  You should NOT bring the large Celestron boxes in which the telescope and tripod were shipped, as you will not likely have room on the return trip for both these boxes and the container we will be providing.  Rather, we recommend putting a sheet around the telescope, placing the telescope upright in one of your passenger seats, and strapping it down with the shoulder harness of the passenger seat belt.  After the conference, participants will bring the telescope home in the container provided at the workshop, so it is important that this will fit in your vehicle.

OTHER ITEMS TO BRING:

  • Warm clothes (including jacket, hat, gloves, and warm shoes)
  • Flashlight (we will provide red cellophane for regular flashlights if needed)
  • Water bottle
  • Your enthusiasm and curiosity

MEALS:
Our NSF grant will cover the following meals for all workshop attendees:

  • Breakfasts (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) – Continental breakfast at hotel
  • Lunches (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) – Catered lunch at workshop venues
  • Dinners (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) – Group dinners at different local restaurants each night
  • Snacks (Thursday – Sunday) — Snacks/coffee/warm beverages during day and night sessions

For the above meals, we will make arrangements to accommodate dietary restrictions as requested on registration forms. 

Because folks will be arriving into Pasco at varying times on Thursday, carpools should plan to stop for lunch on your own before the start of the workshop at 1PM. After the workshop on Sunday, we will provide a catered lunch, but all carpools are free to make alternate plans as needed. Meals prior to Thursday dinner and after Sunday lunch will not be covered by our grant.

SUBSTITUTE PAY:

For participants who need reimbursement from RECON for substitute coverage, we request that your district provide a written invoice listing the dates, cost of coverage, and address to which a reimbursement check should be sent. Contingent on attendance at the workshop, payments will be reimbursed after invoices have been received. Invoices can be emailed as a pdf to Rosa Jones at rjones@calpoly.edu or mailed as a hard copy to:

CESAME/RECON
ATTN: SUBSTITUTE REIMBURSEMENT
1 GRAND AVE.
SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 93407

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS:

As an option for educators interested in receiving academic credit for the workshop, participants can pay to receive 1-3 Continuing Education Units from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Please note that registration for CEU credit is optional, but you must register by the end of the day Thursday, April 16 to receive credit. You cannot receive CEU credit if you have not registered by this date. To register, select a CEU section (1, 2, or 3) and add the course to your cart. From there you can check out and follow the step-by-step directions:

Register for 1 CEU Course ($75)

Register for 2 CEU Course ($85)

Register for 3 CEU Course ($95)

Any questions or complications with this, please call the Extended Education Office at 805-756-2053.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
For more information on the RECON Training Workshop, contact tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu.