Gazing at planets, stars and far away galaxies is not just for astronomers anymore. The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio have teamed up with NASA and Girl Scouts of the USA to create an astronomy club dedicated to the exploration of science and space — the “Girls in Space Program.”

The North East Ohio Girl Scouts Council was one of only 10 in the country that was awarded $1,300 to start up an astronomy club and receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Representing the group was Stacy McClelland, 17, and her sister, Tiffany McClelland, 15, both of Lorain; Suzie Dills, program specialist for Girl Scouts of North East Ohio; and Mike Williams, retired director of the planetarium and observatory at Oberlin College.

Stacy, who has been interested in astronomy from a young age, said the trip was “an amazing environment to walk into and learn about astronomy.”

Tiffany, like her sister, enjoyed the experience.

“It was an amazing opportunity to meet other girls from all over the country,” she said.

Tiffany said the best part of the experience was helping out in starting programs and sharing ideas.

“We talked about what we have already done; things that interest the girls,” she said.

At NASA, the groups received information about how to start an astronomy club, resource material and were directed to some Web sites they can use. In addition to the NASA scientists, Williams was also a valuable resource on the trip, according to Tiffany.

“He was amazing, he knew so much about astronomy, he was able to explain stuff and offer advice,” Tiffany said.

One of the highlights of the trips was the opportunity to learn how to operate remote robotic telescopes. In that program, astronomers and astronomy groups can access high powered telescopes in dark, remote places in the country via the Internet.

Dills explained that the group can login to access a portal in Arizona from its location. She said the girls love it.

“They were real excited, one of the really cool things — discovering what they can use and they what can use it for,” Dills said.

Tiffany thought it was a “really, really good program, we learned more in depth about the telescope and how to use it.”

Stacy said she already is excited about using the telescope.

“It’s amazing, it is extremely powerful and I am looking forward to using it,” she said.

Other activities on the trip focused on different subjects in space science, about the sun and solar system, and the classification of galaxies and stars. They also learned how to create club activities for all age levels. One of the highlights of the event was meeting some of the scientists, including a female scientist who spoke about her career.

Dills said that the girls enjoyed meeting other girls from around the country who can help plan programs.

Stacy agreed: “The best part was meeting other Girl Scouts and other people highly interested in talking about astronomy.”

Even before the award, astronomy had been a focus of the group, which owns and operates two observatories — one at Camp Timberlane in Wakeman and the other at Camp Sugarbush in Kinsman. The computerized telescopes at Camp Timberlane opened up about a year ago and Williams was “instrumental in setting up the observatory” according to Dills.

The high-tech telescope allows the girls to “see far off into deep space,” Dills said. “It is a great mentoring opportunity as well, to get the younger girls interested in astronomy,” Dills said.

Tiffany said that she appreciated the observatory and the opportunity to help the younger girls.

“We learned programs and the skills to start teaching Daisies, Brownies and Juniors about how to use the telescope, crafts and Girl Scout concepts,” Tiffany said.

With the grant, and support from the national office, the group plans to purchase three portable telescopes and some binoculars.

“We are so fortunate to get funding to start an astronomy club,” Dills said.

Contact Rob Swindell at 329-7155 or ctnews@chroniclet.com.

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