Rio Rancho students to speak at Astronomical Society after Expo wins

Several Rio Rancho Public Schools Science EXPO winners spoke at the Rio Rancho Astronomical Society monthly meeting Friday, Feb. 20 at Rainbow Park Observatory, 301 Southern Blvd. in Rio Rancho, and some of those students are advancing to a regional competition. The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. and was free and open to the public, with a stargaze to follow weather permitting.

The Rio Rancho Astronomical Society release announcing the meeting said, “Special Guest Speakers will be several RRPS Science EXPO students who received our Excellence in Astronomy or Space Science award. Some of these students are moving on to the Regional competition. The meeting starts at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public. A stargaze will follow the meeting, weather permitting.” The observatory is described on club materials as located behind Rainbow Pool.

The RRAS announcement did not list the students’ names, the number of student speakers, their grade levels, or titles of their Science EXPO projects. The release identified the speakers only as recipients of the Excellence in Astronomy or Space Science award and noted advancement to regionals without naming the regional competition, details that RRPS and RRAS materials did not provide in the meeting notice.

RRAS is listed on club pages as “A Member Club of the Astronomical League” and as a 501c3 for public events at the Rainbow Park Observatory and Planetarium. The organization’s calendar and outreach items include a Telescope Loaner Program and an Astrophotos gallery; two recent captions on the club site credit Darin Templet for a Horsehead Nebula image taken Feb. 7 and James Messick for a Flame and Horsehead image dated Feb. 7. For context about the society’s regular programming, a January listing for RRAS described a Jan. 23 meeting 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mountain as a “show and tell” and advised, “If you or a family member has gotten a new telescope over the holidays that you need help with, bring it to the gathering and we will assist. It will be cold out, so dress warmly.”

Public logistics for the Feb. 20 meeting matched other RRAS event notices: the Rainbow Park Observatory and Planetarium address is given as 301 Southern Blvd., Rio Rancho, NM 87124, with meetings described as free and followed by telescope viewing when skies permit. RRAS programming history on city event pages includes larger signature events such as Night Under the Stars on Sept. 27 with guest Dr. Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut, and National Astronomy Day programming that has featured Dr. Larry Crumpler speaking about Mars.

The appearance by Science EXPO winners linked RRPS classroom work to community science outreach at the observatory and left a clear near-term outcome: several student projects will move forward to a regional competition while the community gains free access to student presentations and public stargazing at Rainbow Park Observatory.