Cosmoquest Hangout-a-thon

Itâs no surprise that funding cuts are hitting everyone in science. From research to outreach, thereâs less money coming from the top down, and that means less science at all levels.

We need science. We need more research, more people involved, more interest generated, and more of the public knowing about it.

Cosmoquest is a group run by my friend Dr. Pamela Gay that gets the public involved with science (full disclosure: I am an advisor to CQ). They run hands-on demos, do interviews online, create and run citizen science projects, and generally just get out there and evangelize science.

Cosmoquest gets funding from several sources, but NASA grants are a big one, and those are being cut back severely. Faced with this sudden loss, Cosmoquest is holding a massive 32 hour live telethon on June 15 â 16 starting at 16:00 UTC (12:00 noon EDT) to help raise needed funds to keep the organization going. It will be held on Google+ in the form of a Hangout, a live video program, hosted by Pamela and Dr. Nicole Gugliucci (aka Noisy Astronomer) with lots of special guests.

Including me! Iâll be on at 22:15 UTC (6:15 p.m. EDT) Saturday, today, June 15, talking about all sorts of things, including my time working to create educational materials based on real NASA astronomical satellite data. Other guests include Surly Amy, Scott Sigler & A Kovacs, Dr. Seth Shostak, Dr. Kiki Sanford & Jennifer Ouellette, and many more.

Hereâs the complete schedule of events, and you can read more about the Hangout-a-thon at the Cosmoquest blog. I hope a lot of you BABloggees will watch, and please, donate if you can. Cosmoquest does good work, and we need a lot more of that kind of thing, not less.