Space Place inaugurates amateur radio center

Space Place, UW–Madison’s hub for astronomy and space science outreach, is embarking on a new educational project with the help of the Four Lakes Amateur Radio Club and area schools.

On Wednesday (May 6), Space Place will inaugurate the Space Place Amateur Radio Center or SPARC, an effort to promote science and technology to young people through amateur radio. SPARC will make possible a wide range of science and technology education projects, including the collection of data from satellites, studies of the ionosphere, and communication with space shuttle and space station astronauts. SPARC is a collaborative effort of community volunteers and is financed entirely through private donations.

The opening of SPARC will take place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Students will be on hand at Space Place, 1605 S. Park St., for the inaugural radio communications between space place and the DeForest Middle School.

For more information, contact Space Place Director Jim Lattis at (608) 263-0360, lattis@sal.wisc.edu