a good review

So, on Friday I had to give a Planetarium show. It was a live show, which means that all the entertainment come from me standing in the back with a lazer pointer, showing stuff to the 82 people that showed up. And the reason that there were so many people, we usually have closer to half that, was all the students taking Astronomy 101 over the summer had to come to a Planetarium show and turn in an essay about it, and Friday was their last chance for a show.

Anyway, this was a essay turned in by one of the students.

On July 28, 2006, my family and I attended the Ritter Planetarium’s program entitled “The Summer Skies over Toledo.” It was a live program, narrated by an enthusiastic, female astronomy student. We arrived in the nick of time but had to sit in the nosebleed section—the front row. Nevertheless, the reclining seats were very comfy and allowed me to see the dome-like ceiling without straining my neck. I sat my seven-month old son in his carrier, directly across from us and as my eyes became dark-adapted, I noticed him twiddling his fingers and staring at the narrator as if he understood. The program was designed for a diverse audience. She discussed and defined the topics so clearly that even young children could follow along. The narrator also had an excellent sense of humor and ad libed really well.
The program was about locating stars and constellations visible currently in the Toledo skies. We watched the asterisms, The Big Dipper and Summer Triangle. We located the North Star and watched Lyra the Harp, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and other constellations. I felt a bit smart when she asked if The North Star was the brightest and I answered “Sirius.” We saw the haze of the Milky Way. She also discussed the controversial naming of a Kuiper Belt object as Gabriel & Xena and how the astronomical association was debating what criterion a body meets before being declared a planet. At first, I assumed she was discussing Sedna when she discussed the possible 10th planet but this name was not mentioned.
Towards the end of the presentation, my son got fussy so my husband took him into the hallway. I watched the entire presentation but missed the opportunity to view Jupiter (which I now know as the largest Jovian, planet) because of my family. However, I did learn how useful and relevant astronomy is. The narrator told a short story about her soldier-friend in Iraq who’s GPS system failed when he needed to get his men back to Baghdad. He utilized his knowledge of the stars to guide his men back to the base. I also learned that the planets were named after Greek deities.
In addition, I also have a more personal reason to learn astronomy—my son. I struggled during the first weeks of this class because my mind is hard-wired to writing and public speaking; mathematics and science have always been difficult for me. I went to see Prof. McGinnis to receive tutoring and explanations of the correct quiz answers and my little son was enthralled with his demonstration of Earth orbiting while tilting on his axis. I thought to myself in this day and age where athletes and rock stars are worshipped, I want my son to have a hobby that requires brainpower. I want to sit with him, a few years from now, look up at the evening sky and be able to discuss the stars and pick out constellations. This was a great experience for my budding astronomer, Alexander and hopefully, this will not be our last planetarium visit.

Looks like she enjoyed it, yay. And except that I'm not actually a Astronomy student and "Prof. McGinnis" isn't a professor, but a whiney grad student that the department is kicking out, she knows what she is talking about.
And my boss got to see a copy of it, so that was good too.