The Kid's Program is being run by Jennifer Petriew with the assistance of Kim Kulak and Emily Petriew.

Jennifer Petriew is married to Vance Petriew, discoverer of Comet Petriew. Not so coincidentally, her interest in astronomy began shortly after meeting said comet discoverer 20 years ago. Jennifer and Vance have three children, and she looks forward to spending time with the SSSP kids each year to help them have fun learning about astronomy. Emily Petriew is Jennifer's daughter.

Kim Kulak is a wife and mother of a child with Autism and has a Bachelor of Education with a speciality in Early Childhood. She has worked over 20 years in a variety of settings educating and providing programs for young children including those with special needs. After a 3 year hiatus, Kim and family are attending their 9th SSSP and Kim is thrilled to be back volunteering with Jenn at the SSSP Kids Activities.

SSSP Kids... join us on Saturday morning at the Yurt Observatory to play, create and explore the wonders of our universe with other SSSP kids! We will do some crafts, play and pretend, and maybe even learn a thing or two about astronomy! I'm looking forward to having some fun with you all!!! Parents are welcome to stay and help out the very young astronomers.

This year we'll be learning about some interesting night sky objects, some ways that pictures are taken of these amazing objects and will get a chance to create a space craft to help us take pictures of spectacular things in space! (Okay, not a real space craft, but we can pretend!).

There are a limited number of places for the banquet. They will be allocated on a "first registered, first allocated" basis. We strongly suggest that you preorder your tickets when you register. A small number of places will be held for at-the-door registrations but only if the room limit has not yet been exceeded. We also ask you, if you find that you are not able to come to the banquet but have preordered tickets, to contact us immediately by phoning 306-280-1899. We will refund your banquet ticket costs and will allocate your tickets to people on our waiting list. If you do not contact us beforehand and you do not show up, your banquet ticket costs will NOT be refunded. See "Refund Policy" for more information.

Menu to be announced.

If you have specific dietary requirements, please contact the star party organizers by e-mail or phone.

Under Living Skies Public Lecture (Thursday 19:00 Amphitheatre)

"Home Place--Learning to live with nature in the city"

Abstract

We need to look after the air, water and green spaces in our cities. So many of us now live in cities, and while we love our getaways to scenic places, we can learn to appreciate the natural areas in our urban context. We experience so much joy in the beauty of nature in our Ecosphere - the land, the water, the sky, and we don’t want to lose all this. We need to care for our home place by learning to live within nature's boundaries.

By living and working together for our own health and well being, and that of nature that sustains us, the human species will have a much healthier future. While we have begun by making the first step of awareness of the importance of environment, the most important step is to follow through with concerted actions. Our children watch us and we must be role models, not just in what we say, but how we act.

Biography

Louise Jones will illustrate these principles with examples from her career as an environmental educator. She was co-creator and the Project Leader of the Brightwater Science and Environmental Program, a residential outdoor school program for students in the Saskatoon Public School system, and established the Road Map Saskatoon Project for Sustainability. Over the years, she has received several awards for her role as an environmental leader. Currently, she is the Chair of the Northeast Swale Watchers, a Saskatoon citizens group advocating for protection of natural areas within the boundaries of our expanding city.

Friday Afternoon Workshop (13:30 Resort Wapiti Room)

"Light Pollution Abatement in Western Canada"

Abstract

This workshop, moderated by Rena Woss, will present an overview of light pollution, its impacts, why and how to fight it, and how changes in technology presents new challenges. We’ll also explore why astronomers aren’t doing more to protect their disappearing skies and find solutions to aid them in their quest.

Biography

Rena Woss is an environmentalist, an amateur astronomer and is past-president of the Lethbridge Astronomy Society. Her work of 30 years has culminated in establishing one of the finest club-owned astronomy centres in Alberta and in having the Oldman River Observatory designated an ‘Urban Star Park’. Promoting unpolluted skies has been a central focus of her work in the belief that healthy skies make for a healthy environment and a happier society.

Saturday Presentation (13:30 Wapiti Room)

"Target Earth: Meteorites - Impact Craters - Tektites"

Professor Emeritus Mel Stauffer, Department Of Geological Sciences, University Of Saskatchewan

Abstract

Although meteorites have been known about for many centuries they did not become common knowledge until the 20th century. Indeed, after a meteorite fall in the early 1800's was described by two professors from Yale, Thomas Jefferson (previously president of the USA) is reported to have said that he would “rather believe that two Yankee professors would lie, than that stones would fall from the sky”. Although the quote is probably wrong, it none-the-less expressed what would have been a common feeling at the time. So, meteorites are stones that fall from the sky. But what are they? What are they made of? Where do they come from? How do they relate to Earth? And, what, if anything, can we learn from them? These are the main questions that people who study meteorites ask themselves, and these questions form the basis for most of this talk.

Biography

I first became interested in meteorites in early March, 1960, just 2½ months before graduation (BSc), when the Bruderheim meteor lit up the early morning sky just NE of Edmonton. A couple days later, after the fall of nearly 700 meteorite fragments, one of my professors, Prof. Bob Folinsbee, hauled me out of class to go meteorite hunting with him. I found six small pieces that day, but several farmers already had buckets full. Stones from the sky; I was amazed.

Unfortunately, it was some time before I was involved with the recovery in 1981 of another rock from space, the Wynyard Meteorite. This may have been the fallout from a large fireball that lit up the noon day sky over Wynyard, Saskatchewan, on July 24th, 1922, nearly 60 years earlier. I got to name this one; I was thrilled.

Since then I have been involved with the recovery of meteorites from the 2009 Buzzard Coulee meteorite fall, and the ancient (~ 1000 AD) Whitecourt impact (not discovered until 2008).

Professor Stauffer received his Doctorate in Geology from the Australian National University in 1964. He joined the faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan in 1965. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1975. He retired in 2005 and attained status as a Professor Emeritus.

(Written by Mel Stauffer with edits by Les Dickson)

Fr. Lucian Kemble Memorial Lecture (Saturday, 15:00 Wapiti Room)

"Measuring the Weather in Space"

Professor Kathryn McWilliams, Department Of Physics and Engineering Physics, University Of Saskatchewan

Abstract

Space weather researchers study how conditions in space affect the Earth's upper atmosphere, in particular the ionosphere--the electrified layer of the atmosphere. One of the most well-known effects of space weather are the beautiful displays of aurora, which we are fortunate to be able to see in Canada. How is the aurora produced? How can we monitor space weather from the ground? How can you find out when the aurora will be taking place overhead? These are some of the questions we will investigate.

Biography

Kathryn McWilliams, Ph.D., P.Eng., is the Director of the SuperDARN Canada facility - an international collaboration involving ten countries who synchronize the operation of nearly forty radars around the world. The U of S operates five of these radars, including three that operate remotely in the Canadian high arctic. These radars measure the circulation of the plasma in the Earth's ionosphere driven by space weather conditions near Earth.

(Written by Kathryn McWilliams with edits by Les Dickson)

Clinic under the stars, (Friday, 22:00 Meadows Campground)

Binocular Star Walk

Mr. Murray Paulson

Abstract

The SSSP is a family reunion of sorts with the many friends I have met over the years. After what seems too long a wait, it is fast approaching. This year Murray will guide you through a tour of the near sky with your binoculars in his ever-popular Binocular Star Walk. We will swing across the night sky picking up all sorts of interesting objects from clusters through to some challenging nebula. I will show you some useful tricks to help find these elusive objects. We usually finish off with a hands on exploration of our favorite binoculars with the group. Bring your favorite pair and show them off.

(Written by Murray Paulson)

Biography

CARPE NOCTEM!

I felt the starry sky calling when I was 9 years old. The moon, planets and those distant motes of light were so intriguing and these many years later I find they still fascinate me. Whether viewing the planets, a distant nebula, or a colorful double, the sky brings me home. In the 90s I discovered Meteorites and Eclipses which I fell in love with. Neither of these activities is helping the RRSPs along, so what the heck, Carpe Noctem! Murray Paulson also writes the Planets section of the RASC Observers Handbook. His family are from St. Albert, Alberta.

(Written by Murray Paulson with edits by Les Dickson)

SSSP 2017 Saturday Children’s Program

Children’s Program

Come explore our solar system with the SSSP Kids 2017! Suitable for the young and young at heart, SSSP Kids will get to explore some of the things that make our solar system interesting and exciting! Lead by Jennifer Petriew and Kim Kulak, SSSP Kids will join in some group games, have some fun with gravity, and explore some activity and crafting stations at your own pace. Maybe you'd like to create your very own moon rock buddy or paint a pretty night scene with sparkly stars in the sky? You might get a little messy, or even a little wet, so maybe save your fancy clothes for the banquet and come ready to play! A light snack will be provided, and parents are encouraged to accompany their young children and join in the fun!

Jennifer Petriew is married to Vance Petriew, discoverer of Comet Petriew. Not so coincidentally, her interest in astronomy began shortly after meeting said comet discoverer 20 years ago. Jennifer and Vance have three children, and she looks forward to spending time with the SSSP kids each year to help them have fun learning about astronomy.

SSSP 2017 Saturday Children’s Program

Children’s Program

Kim Kulak is a wife and mother of a child with Autism and has a Bachelor of Education with a specialty in Early Childhood. Kim has worked over 20 years in a variety of educational settings providing programs for young children including those with special needs. Kim and family are attending their 10th SSSP and Kim is thrilled to be back this year leading the SSSP Kids’ Activities with Jen Petriew.