Southern RECON Training Workshop
Kingman, Arizona
Thursday-Sunday, March 19-22, 2015

During this four-day training workshop, representatives from 19 RECON teams in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada will join together to learn more about the project, train on telescope and camera systems, and plan for future coordinated occultation campaigns. Representatives from our 8 of our pilot RECON communities will also attend to provide mentoring and support to our new participants. 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 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 La Senita Elementary School, a professional development training center run by Kingman Unified School District.

CONFERENCE LOCATION AND DATES:
La Senita Elementary School
3175 Gordon Drive
Kingman, AZ 86409
Telescopes can be dropped off between 10-11:30AM and after 12:30PM Thursday
Conference begins Thursday, March 19 at 1PM
Conference ends Sunday, March 22 at noon
Meals will be provided Thursday dinner through Sunday breakfast

SCHEDULE AND WORKSHOP MATERIALS:
Overview of Workshop Schedule
Workshop Resources and Materials (login required)

HOTEL LOCATION:
Hampton Inn & Suites Kingman
1791 Sycamore Ave
Kingman, AZ 86409
Phone Contact: 928-692-0200 (Sara Juntunen)
Check in Thursday, March 19 at 5PM

MAP WITH DIRECTIONS FROM HOTEL TO LA SENITA SCHOOL:

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.

At the conference, we provided 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) — it can get cold at night even in Arizona!
• Red 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) – 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. A kitchen and food storage facilities are available at the workshop venue if there are specific food items you would like to bring to the workshop.

Because folks will be arriving into Kingman 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 identify a restaurant where folks can join for lunch, but all carpools are free to make alternate plans as needed. Meals prior to Thursday dinner and after Sunday breakfast 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 Friday, March 20 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.