|
On Campus
- Stories
August
29,
2003, Vol. 56, No. 10
More than 1,500
people went to the Drake Municipal Observatory in Waveland Park this week
to get a rare glimpse of Mars in its closest
orbit to earth for 60,000
years.
"
On Wednesday night, we had more than 1,000 visitors," said Charlie Nelson,
assistant professor of astronomy. "People were standing in line from the
observatory out to the entrance to the Waveland Golf Course. Some people waited
in line for hours, while others gave up and left. We estimate that 800 people
were able to view Mars through our telescopes. We were there until 4 in the
morning."
Both WOI-TV and WHO-TV featured live broadcasts from the observatory on their
10 p.m. newscasts Wednesday.
On Thursday night, the lines were long, but a lot shorter than Wednesday,
Nelson said. All of the 500 visitors were able to view the Red Planet that
night, when
the observatory stayed open until 2:30 a.m.
"
It was much more manageable since we anticipated that people would arrive as
much as two hours early and were ready for them," Nelson added. "That
happened the first night and really threw us off in getting started. The reason
was that people got our observatory confused with Ashton Observatory in Baxter,
which is run by the Des Moines Astronomical Society and had public viewings
starting at 8 p.m. We definitely had a good time, but I must say I'm glad its
over."
In addition to Nelson, other members of the Drake community assisted with
the viewings of Mars. Morris Mason, physics lab assistant, and Aaron Plasek,
AS'03,
ran telescopes while the following students helped with crowd control: Wendy
Bennet, Drew Fustin, Tom Heuser and Courtney Terrel. Harry Wood of the Des
Moines Astronomical Society also provided valuable assistance.
The observatory's fall season of public presentations and stargazing will
start on Friday, Sept. 5, with "The Big Gang: Time, Energy, Particles, Forces.
How Do We Know?" The presentation, which is free and open to the public,
will start at 8 p.m. The fall presentations will continue at 8 p.m on Friday
evenings through Oct. 24.
Musical performances
for the fall season will begin next week with a faculty recital by Erika
Inge Leake, flute, and Chiu-Ling Lin, piano.
They will
perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium.
Ann K. Cravero, mezzo-soprano, and Marita Wolgast, piano, will perform
works by Johannes Brahms, Henri Duparc, John Duke, Samuel Barber and
Jake Heggie
in a faculty recital at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, on the Jordan Stage in
Sheslow Auditorium.
Kenneth Drake, piano, will perform works by Beethoven at 2 p.m. Saturday,
Sept. 6, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium. All three performances
are free
and open to the public.
J. Barry Griswell,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Principal Financial
Group, will open Drake
University's fall "Let's DU Lunch" speaker
series on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Griswell, who served as president and CEO of MetLife Marketing Corp.
before joining Principal in 1988, will share his insights on trends
in the financial
services
industry and a look at the future of 401k plans.
At Principal, Griswell is responsible for overall management of the
company, including capital markets activities, U.S. and international
asset management,
government relations, merger and acquisition activities and corporate
support functions, among others.
The luncheon series is open to the public. It is sponsored by the
Drake University Central Iowa Alumni Chapter and the Greater Des
Moines Partnership.
The series will continue on Wednesday, Oct. 1, with Dr. Tom Davis,
coach of the Drake men's basketball team, and Amy Stephens, coach
of the Drake
women's basketball
team. Steven G. Chapman, president and CEO of ITAGroup Inc., will
conclude the series on Wednesday, Nov 5.
All of the luncheons will start at 11:30 a.m. in the Younkers Tea
Room in downtown Des Moines. The cost is $15 per luncheon or $36
in advance
for all
three events.
Due to limited seating, reservations are recommended. Contact the
Drake Office of Alumni and Parent Programs at x3848 or send an e-mail
message
to melissa.sturm-smith@drake.edu.
Explore the latest
and greatest in classroom technology by taking advantage of training sessions
offered by the Drake Telemedia Center.
Register at http://www.draketv.com/training
The schedule and course descriptions follow. For more information,
contact Sandy Henry at x3714 or sandy.henry@drake.edu.
Thursday, Sept. 4
9:00 AM LCD Projector Usage
10:00 AM AV Reserving/Scheduling
10:00 AM Video Basics
10:30 AM Digital Video Camera
11:00 AM iMovie
12:00 PM Streaming at Drake
1:00 PM Digital Still Camera
1:30 PM Power Point
2:30 PM Power Point Palm/Pocket Remote
3:00 PM DVD Basics/iDVD
3:00 PM Keynote Presentation Software
Friday, Sept. 5
9:00 AM Streaming at Drake
10:00 AM Electronic Classroom/Teaching Basics
11:00 AM LCD Projector
11:30 AM Digital Still Camera
12:00 PM Digital Video Camera
12:30 PM AV Reserving/Scheduling
1:00 PM Power Point
2:00 PM Power Point Palm/Pocket Remote
2:30 PM Keynote Presentation SoftwareMonday, Sept. 8
9:00 AM DVD Basics/iDVD
10:00 AM LCD Projector
10:30 AM Electronic Classroom/Teaching Basics
11:30 AM Digital Still Camera
12:00 PM Video Basics
12:30 PM Digital Video Camera
1:00 PM iMovie
2:00 PM Streaming at Drake
3:00 PM AV Reserving/Scheduling
Set under the
stars in historic Drake Park, the new Drake Neighborhood Outdoor Film Series
will feature local,
indie and classic films
as well as live music
by local band James Reihn and the Faith Shakers.
This free event was made possible by a generous grant
from Neighborhood Grants for Growth through the Annie
E. Casey
Foundation. Additional
support was
received from the Drake Neighborhood Association, Drake
Business Association, the Drake
Diner and Realtor Preston and Patty Daniels.
According to Andrew Pinneke, film series coordinator
and writer, director and producer of "Boondocker" one
of the featured local films, the series "is
an opportunity to showcase both the filmmaking talent
we have in Central Iowa and the vibrant Drake Neighborhood.
The filmmakers
of Iowa have been presenting
the heart of our state beautifully for years. It is
a wonderful opportunity for our community to see this,
embrace it as our
own, walk away proud, and
demand
more chances to enjoy it."
DETAILS:
For more info: Contact Andrew Pinneke at 279-2443 or Larry James Jr. at 205-2158
LINEUP:
Stories | Calendar