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Astrospheric Sky ForecastVolunteer Opportunities
There are myriad ways for MHAA members to participate in the MHAA mission as a volunteer. We are always looking to capture more participation as many hands make light work, and we certainly have plenty of work to go around.
If you have any questions about these roles or if you believe you could help with any of the roles, please simply reach out on Slack to the president or vice president, or speak up at a meeting, etc.!
Note: You must be a member in good standing to hold these roles
Event Relations
Event Coordinator
After the outreach coordinator handles the initial discussion with inquiring event hosts about how MHAA events go, costs, dates, etc. they will hand it off to an event coordinator.
Event coordinators secure the required volunteer members (telescope operators and/or presenters) to support the event, maintain the flow of communication with our clients and the volunteers, etc. so everyone knows the setup location instructions, any event/location rules they need to mind, etc. They and the host make the final go/no go decision based on the forecasts. The event coordinator need not attend every event they oversee.
We'd like to have at least one coordinator per "quadrant" of the combined Ulster/Dutchess regional area that we primarily work in.
- Northern Dutchess/Southern Columbia Region
POSITION FILLED
- Northern Ulster/Southern Greene Region
- Southern Dutchess/Northern Putnam Region
- Southern Ulster/Northern Orange Region
MHAA Social Event Planner
We're trying to increase the number and success of our social events to reinforce the member connections and involvement. We have a yearly picnic in the park in the summer, we attempt to have a holiday dinner each winter, and we are looking to expand with a spring time awards dinner as well. The social event coordinator would drive park permits and food orders for the picnic, reservation and or any special menu for the holiday dinner, etc. They event planner can recruit assistants as needed for subtasks.
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In the Field
Telescope Operator
Telescope operators ARE our star parties. We bring at least two to every event, consisting of at least one observational telescope. Others can be observational or smart/imaging scopes with a screen. They can bring their own or one of the clubs. They interact directly with the guests, find targets, help them learn how to see the targets in the scope, take requests, answer questions, etc. They employ a laser pointer to show where we are looking or what we are talking about.
Operators choose which events to attend, but we are always looking to expand the pool of potential operators. You are NOT required to go to any specific events or number of events, but if you to enough of certain types you qualify for a unique yearly issued NASA pin. Duration of events varies, but is settled on ahead of time; 2-3hrs of actual interaction is common.
If you're nervous, we'd be happy to let you shadow our seasoned operators at a few events to boost your confidence.
Planetarium Guide/Topical Presenter
Some event engagements ask us to have an indoor presentation available in case of bad weather. Others ask for ONLY an indoor presentation on particular topics. And others still ask for both an indoor presentation and the outdoor star party.
We are always looking for people willing to put together new presentations and or give them. This includes slideshow presentations, presentations using a planetarium app like Stellarium, or a combination of both. We can help you put together the slideshow or have you shadow us at events if you are interested, but want to get comfortable with the experience before taking it on for yourself.
Behind a computer
Social Media Content Creator
POSITION FILLED
Responsible for posting MHAA and space/astronomy related content to keep our members and the public engaged and increase our visibility in the algorithms, primarily on Facebook and Instagram. Will likely interface at times with the publicity and outreach officers, general members in Slack, etc. to capture content ideas.
Minimum content would include the announcements/reminder posts to FB and Insta for our roughly monthly public star parties and the guest presentations at our monthly meetings. Ideally would post other more entertaining/recreational content like sharing member astrophotography, images from MHAA events, exciting space news, etc. along with some related text. May involve some responses to questions on the social platforms.
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