White House Astronomy Night

White House Astronomy Night (and alternatively Astronomy Night on the National Mall) is an event first organized by the White House in conjunction with the Office of Science and Technology Policy to motivate interest in astronomy and science education. The original White House Astronomy Night was held in 2009 on the South Lawn. In 2010 the White House and the Office of Science and Technology Policy organized a similar event with help from Hofstra University, this time held on the National Mall. Between 2010 and 2014 annual events took place at the National Mall with coordination between Hofstra University and federal agencies including: the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. In 2015 an event took place in June at the National Mall, and then back at the White House again on October 19.

The 2012 book ''Rising Above the Gathering Storm'' by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine noted the White House Astronomy Night indicated an emphasis by the Obama Administration towards support for education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM fields). ''The New Moon: Water, Exploration, and Future Habitation'', written in 2014 by Arlin Crotts, observed this event and the inclusion of NASA's Lunar Electric Rover in the First inauguration of Barack Obama reflected an emphasis on the importance of science education.

Events

2009 White House Astronomy Night

The first White House Astronomy Night was held on the South Lawn on October 7, 2009.Sherr 2015, pp. 335–337. This first event coincided with the International Year of Astronomy.Mayes 2010 Science Advisor to the President John Holdren stood next to President Obama as the president made a speech wherein he emphasized the values of science education and how crucial it was to society to increase the interest of youth towards studying science.Crotts 2014, pp. 91–93. This was an attempt by the White House to increase motivation for children to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Only optical telescopes were used to peer at the heavens during the events.Lewin 2012, p. 190. Over twenty such telescopes were placed on the South Lawn of the White House in addition to displays of Moon rocks, meteorites, and presentations of the Solar System.

In addition the Obama family, in attendance at the event was NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the first female American to travel to space in 1983. Ride wore her flight jacket and answered questions from children about the Solar System.

Amateur astronomers Caroline Moore and Lucas Bolyard attended the event. Both Moore and Bolyard had previously made noteworthy discoveries in astronomy.State News Service 2009 New York high school student Moore contributed to the discovery of Supernova 2008ha in 2008, becoming the youngest individual to identify a supernova.

While a high school student in his second-year at a school in West Virginia in 2009, Bolyard found a rotating radio transient, a form of neutron star. Bolyard accomplished this through analysis of observations while a member of the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, an initiative aimed at allowing youth access to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope through joint cooperation between West Virginia University and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

National Mall events

Executive Office of the President department — the Office of Science and Technology Policy, hosted the next Astronomy Night on July 15, 2010. This time the event took place at the National Mall.Larson 2010 Hofstra University helped organize the event which was open to the public.

The event was held on the National Mall the next year on July 9, 2011.Smithsonian 2011 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum assisted through opening its Public Observatory and outer landing area to the public.Hofstra 2011 Hofstra University sponsored the event, and presented both live events and space observation through telescopes. Hofstra University program coordinator of astronomy public outreach, professor Donald Lubowich, helped organize the event.Chandra 2011 Lubowich commented: "Bringing Hofstra's program to the National Mall gives us a very special opportunity to encourage children to pursue their interest and science and promote public understanding of science. Gazing at the rings of Saturn or the Moon's craters and mountains captures the imagination, no matter how old you are." The 2011 event included assistance from the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, in addition to attendance from organizations including: the American Astronomical Society, the James Webb Space Telescope, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the Franklin Institute Science Museum.

April 28, 2012, was the third time the event was held on the National Mall.Garg 2012 It was organized with help from Hofstra University, in addition to local astronomy clubs. Organizations represented included: the National Science Foundation, ''Astronomy Magazine'', the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, International Dark-Sky Association, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Space Telescope Science Institute, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

The fourth National Mall event was held on June 14, 2013.Hofstra 2013 Lubowich arranged the event, and it featured guided tours of the United States Capitol Building, in addition to complementary tours at local museums. The director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA, Dr. Paul Hertz, attended to talk about astronomy at his institution and to provide information to youth about his field of expertise.

In 2014 approximately 7,000 individuals participated in the Astronomy Night on the National Mall. Lubowich attended and organized the night which was held June 6, 2014. Montgomery College Astronomical Observatory sent staff to man a table and answer questions.Montgomery 2014

Lubowich helped arrange an event on the National Mall on June 19, 2015.Eicher 2015 ''Astronomy Magazine'' came and staff passed out hand-outs, and groups in attendance to support the event included: the American Geophysical Union, the International Dark-Sky Association, the Carnegie Institution, and Georgetown University. It featured a portable blow-up dome with a lit planetarium for viewing. Instructors dressed as historical figures from astronomy including: Caroline Herschel, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler to educate children about the field.

2015 White House Astronomy Night

On August 21, 2015, the White House announced that the Astronomy Night that year would take place on the South Lawn of the White House on October 19.Drosback 2015 Students, teachers, and professionals from the fields of astronomy and the private sector of space exploration were invited to attend. One notable participant was Ahmed Mohamed, a Texas high school student who assembled a makeshift clock at home, brought it to school, and was detained and questioned by police after a teacher thought it resembled a bomb.Fernandez 2015Muskal 2015 In the wake of subsequent publicity, President Obama tweeted an invitation to Mohamed to visit the White House with his "cool clock". Obama Administration staff urged him to attend Astronomy Night,Patil 2015 with Press Secretary Josh Earnest