Imagine, it's your first day as a teacher and you are in front of a high school classroom as an astronomy teacher, or you read my first article on the Teachable Moment…and the former has you just a bit scared and the latter has you excited about learning more about telescopes for yourself and others (especially those younger) in the family.  What comes first?  Show them a telescope, or show them the stars?  The likely first approach is neither.  There is no certainty of a a revelation of great joy when leaning back and looking at the ceiling of a planetarium unless there is motivation that would lead to that great enthusiasm.  One must build up to that point first.

There's a lot of junk science in American movie theaters, no doubt when it comes to science fiction, but sometimes that junk can be the start of something quite exciting.  It's perfectly all right for that subject to enter the conversation; however, the keywords, "science fact movies" Googled come to mind.  The web has provided me, as a teacher and a parent, a plethora of not only viable information on a multitude of subjects, but under today's article title, a valuable start up in bringing star gazing to the forefront for tomorrow's astronomers, astrophysicists, astrobiologists, backyard star gazers, and more.  If working with pre-teens is your starting point (a great formative time, by the way) "kidsknowit.com" and "kids.yahoo.com/science" provide a broad range of material which can and should be converted into a more touchy-feely medium.(here's a great chance for the reader to get creative.)  When I first began teaching, many older colleagues would advise me that films were great time killers for unruly and uninterested students.  Well, teachers (the at home kind as well), DO YOUR HOMEWORK!  Get reviews and preview films and videos when the kids are not around.  There is a large body of work worthy of your consideration and efforts not to mention your living room or your classroom to start that adrenaline flowing in those youthful veins.

For kids at the middle school age through high school ages 12 and up, the challenge will be greater if the audience has only recently been exposed to that teachable moment or gotten only a slight interest in looking beyond their own surface of the planet experience.  Again know your kids, do your homework and bring the famous names from the "astro" world to them.  Perhaps starting with someone like Edwin Hubble who defined the distance to an obscure nebula named Andromeda which he later determined to not be a nebula but rather a galaxy all its own.  This could be a good start for a child together with pictures of and from a telescope named for him.  Then there is Carl Sagan famous to many who have, on occasion turned the TV dial to Public Broadcasting.  There is a tremendous body of work on this thoughts and works.  Not enough yet, grab a list of ‘check out these names' when you "google" names of famous astronomers and take your pick.

The vital aspect here is to understand that your child, or your student has to display interest in the subject in order to make it a productive opportunity.  The child or the student, or the adult for that matter that shows signs of boredom when applying these efforts may not get value from the next set of activities.

Now, get them to a planetarium.  If you are the Astronomy teacher, and you have a classroom size planetarium in your school you are all set.  If not and/or you are expanding beyond that Teachable Moment, get the family to the nearest planetarium.  Start your search in the online Tourist Information Directory.  There are, however, only 34 states with these facilities, so your choice is to either plan a trip or go online and google "online planetariums" to the myriad of sites that have viewing facility.  My favorite from the start has been Paul Neave's Interactive.  It's a great choice for viewing and identifying the constellations in both the day and the night sky. 

See you back again, for more learning beyond the Teachable Momen