Ariel Tung | Dec. 22, 2008
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| Photo by Jonah Williams |
| Senior Kevin Pozzi explained his LESA project during his capstone presentation at City Hall Dec. 5. |
He presented “Light Outs: Astronomy Education and the Girl Scouts” at Bloomington City Hall Dec. 5. His was one of nine student presentations for the LESA program, a project of the city and IU to encourage students to get involved in their communities through service learning programs.
Joelene Bergonzi, assistant director of the LESA program, said that for most students, this is their first time being involved with people and organizations outside of campus. Students spend the semester working on a project that connects their interests, campus and community groups.
“Service learning uses the techniques of reflection activities for students to learn from their own experiences while working with people different from themselves,” Bergonzi said. “As students meet and listen to people from different backgrounds, they deepen their understanding of many complex issues facing American society.”
LESA offers a minor course of study, with classes and community interaction that lead to the capstone projects during senior years. Those projects are presented to IU, city and local organizations.
Pozzi has long been interested in astronomy, and, now, in how light sources affect the ability to see the sky.
“Many of us are not aware of how street lamps and stadium lights create light pollution, especially in metropolitan areas,” Pozzi said. “Dr. Simon Driver of the Australian National University estimates that there are 5,000 stars visible to the naked eye on the darkest areas of the planet. However, only about 100 could be seen in many of the world’s large metropolitan areas.”
Pozzi’s initial idea was to adjust the lights on the IU campus to enable people to view the stars clearly against the dark sky. Later, he decided to shift the project’s focus to astronomy education, due to safety concerns with regards to adjustment of lighting on campus and after discussions with his faculty mentor from the department of astronomy, Caty Pilachowski.
For his education event, “Awesome Astronomy,” Pozzi worked with Tulip Trace Girl Scouts, Stonebelt Stargazers Astronomy Clubs and the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation. The event at sunset at Thomson Park Oct. 4 drew about 60 Girl Scouts and their families. He taught participants about astronomy with a focus on cosmological topics such as meteorites, comets, light and the constellations. Participants stargazed on telescopes provided by the Stonebelt Stargazers Astronomy.
Pozzi also used his journalism skills for many aspects of the project. He co-wrote and co-edited a book, Leadership, Ethics and Social Action: An Experiment in Democracy, for which he also designed the cover.
“The purpose of the education event was to generate interest among the Girl Scouts in light pollution,” Pozzi said. “The project enables me to explore my abilities and learn how to work with the community organizations. I learned how to coordinate an event and bring people together, and experienced what it’s like to be actively involved in something you are interested in.”
