Astronomy magazine announces the 2008 Astronomy Day winner

September 12, 2008
David Young of Boulder, Colorado, is the 2008 Astronomy Day grand-prize winner and has received a Meade 8-inch LX90 telescope, valued at $2000.

David, his wife Donna, and their two children, Alexandra and Noah, attended the Sommers-Bausch Observatory’s (SBO) Astronomy Day activities in Boulder April 12, where they entered for the chance to win the telescope.

In August, the SBO hosted a surprise ceremony to notify David of his prize. Donna was the only family member in on the secret and told the family she received complimentary tickets to a planetarium show from the Boulder Valley School District (where she is a teacher).

“I put together a 5-minute presentation ostensibly about the SBO public outreach program,” says Keith Gleason, manager at the SBO, “ending with Astronomy Day 2008, and then leading to the fact that we had the unsuspecting national grand-prize winner sitting right there in the theater lobby.”

“It seems to have come as a complete surprise to David and both of the kids.”

David and Donna are both involved in education. David is the volunteer web designer for Creekside Elementary School in Boulder, and Donna is a kindergarten teacher at the same school. The entire Young family has an interest in science and will put their new telescope to good use.

“My daughter has been saying she wants to be a scientist since she was 3 years old, and my son wants to work with her to help her do her experiments,” says Donna.

Every year, Astronomy magazine and Meade Instruments Corp. team up with planetaria all over the country to celebrate National Astronomy Day.

“Astronomy magazine takes pride in sponsoring, along with Meade, this terrific celebration of the universe around us,” says Astronomy ‘s Editor David J. Eicher. “Congratulations to David as this year’s grand prize winner.”

This year, 26 locations across the country hosted demonstrations, hands-on activities, telescoping observing, and planetarium shows for participants. Visitors to each location could enter to win a Meade ETX-80 telescope, valued at $300. Astronomy magazine collected all entries from the venues and selected David as the winner of the 8-inch LX90.

“Meade is excited to once again support the National Astronomy Day for 2008 with Astronomy magazine,” says Paul Hobbs, vice-president of product management for Meade. “We are always eager to help bring the beauty and wonder of the universe we live in to a larger audience. We congratulate all the Meade telescope winners around the country and especially the grand-prize winner. We hope all these winners will enjoy their exploration of the heavens and share their experiences with others.”

Mark your calendars for next year’s Astronomy Day! Astronomy Day 2009 will be May 2, 2009.