Ithacans can now enjoy a drink alongside space science education thanks to the efforts of five graduate students in Cornell’s astronomy department.
The students are spearheading an “Astronomy on Tap” chapter in Ithaca, branching from an international public event series where attendees can socialize and learn about space sciences while enjoying beverages at local establishments.
Astronomy on Tap Ithaca will occur at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Liquid State Brewing Company, with the first event slated for Thursday, Sept. 12.
Each Astronomy on Tap session will last about an hour, with enough time for two speakers to shed light on their expertise, audience members to ask questions and drinkers to ask for a refill. Presentations will cover a range of space-related topics, from cosmology to engineering, geology and biology.
“[Astronomy on Tap] is supposed to be a fun, light-hearted and informal event, which is a very stark contrast to the typical, stereotypical, kind of stuffy, maybe boring, science conversations that people assume science talks are,” said Alexia Kubas grad, an Astronomy on Tap Ithaca organizer.
With an atmosphere more casual than typical colloquiums, Astronomy on Tap Ithaca hopes to reach members of the public who do not normally engage with astronomy.
“I think we all noticed that there was kind of a lack in our department in terms of giving science talks geared towards the public and sharing [our research] with our community,” Kubas said. “I think that [Astronomy on Tap Ithaca] is really going to fill a need and hopefully be a really good community building exercise.”
According to Kubas, the Department of Astronomy conducts outreach aimed at elementary and high school students, undergraduates and even senior citizens, but there remains a distinct gap in reaching young and middle-aged adults.
“That’s why I think Astronomy on Tap is important. It’s in the name — it’s at a brewery, which is where the 20 and 30 and 40-somethings hang out,” Kubas said. “It’s the missing demographic certainly in the types of outreach events that we do at Cornell.”
Although Cornell graduate students organized Astronomy on Tap Ithaca, the monthly events are not restricted to Cornellians. According to Kubas, the organizers want the events to reach the greater Ithaca community and surrounding areas.
“My hope is that people from the local community, not just students, not just people already having that interest [in astronomy], find these events to be really fun,” said Diana Solano-Oropeza grad, an Astronomy on Tap Ithaca organizer. “Informal science communication, like Astronomy on Tap, helps a lot in educating the public on a lot of science topics that you might not get a chance to read about in [school].”
Charlie Detelich grad, an Astronomy on Tap Ithaca organizer, will speak at the first event. For Detelich, Astronomy on Tap is an opportunity to share enthusiasm about astronomy.
“This is a career and a passion that I’m really, really excited about and [that] I love,” Detelich said. “I want to do everything in my power to give other people that same excitement about astronomy that I feel.”
After deciding to start an Ithaca Chapter of Astronomy on Tap, Kubas sent a quick email to all astronomy graduate students and was quickly joined by Detelich, Solano-Oropeza, Veronica Hegelein grad and Yongqi Zhang grad.
Because of the breadth of space-related fields, Astronomy on Tap Ithaca lectures will likely encompass not only the study of stars, planets and galaxies but also geology, biology, engineering, data science, instrumentation and chemistry. Speakers will design their talks to be accessible to untrained audiences.
“I think Astronomy on Tap is really great because anybody is welcome to come to these talks and learn something super cool,” Detelich said. “You don’t have to have any background in astronomy to understand what we’re going to be talking about.”