ED052-0003
Adapting International Observe the Moon Night Evaluation to Meet the Needs of a Virtual Event
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Poster
Sanlyn Buxner1, Maya Bakerman1, Andrea P Jones2, Pamela Gay3, Molly L Wasser4, Staci Tiedeken5, Nicole Whelley5, Andrew J Shaner6, Vivian White7, Emily Joseph8, Julie Fooshee9,10, Brian Hamilton Day11 and Caela Barry12, (1)Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States, (2)Goddard Flight Research Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)Planetary Science Institute, Edwardsville, IL, United States, (4)ADNET Systems, Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States, (5)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (6)Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States, (7)Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA, United States, (8)University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, (9)Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States, (10)University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, (11)NASA Ames Research Center, Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (12)ADNET Systems Inc. Greenbelt, Greenbelt, United States
Abstract:
International Observe the Moon Night is an annual worldwide public engagement program that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its connection to planetary science and exploration. Each fall, people from across the globe are invited to observe and celebrate their personal connection to the Moon. The program supports schools, museums, clubs, libraries, and private events to engage visitors in Moon related events by providing event resources such as Moon maps, certificates, activities and presentations. Each year the program strives to reach a larger and more diverse global audience by reaching out to new partners who directly connect with their local communities. Over the past 10 years, an estimated 1.4 million visitors at formal events and as individual observers have participated in International Observe the Moon Night in 107 different countries as well as all 50 U.S. States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Evaluation of the event has included registration data, post event surveys of hosts, and event evaluation of visitors through surveys, interviews, observations, and polls.
The global pandemic of 2020 poses new challenges and opportunities for the event as the organizing committee plans for the fall. Due to ongoing health concerns across the world, International Observe the Moon Night will provide and support many more opportunities for virtual engagement and support for organizations to host virtual events as well. We are currently tackling the additional challenges of evaluating a widely distributed virtual public event as well as supporting event planning through needs assessments of hosts. We will report on the challenges and lessons learned related to evaluation of this new type of event. International Observe the Moon Night is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission and the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, with many contributing partners.
