Telescopes W
hen ELCA pastors Chuck and Sue Ruehle visit Lutheran-supported schools in the Meru Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanza-
nia, they share low-cost science resources, ranging from 50-millimeter refracting Galileoscopes to 125-millimeter OneSky Dobsonian telescopes. Since retiring in 2010, the Ruehles have traveled
thousands of miles from Wisconsin to the Greater Mil- waukee Synod’s companion synod to share the night sky with teachers and students in remote villages. Tey and others help Tanzanian teachers learn hands-on instruc- tion methods. Plans also call for a Tanzanian-led science education center and observatory at the Ailanga Junior Seminary in the Meru Diocese. It’s why the Ruehles founded Telescopes to Tanzania,
which operates under a memo of understanding with the nonprofit Astronomers Without Borders. So far Tele- scopes to Tanzania has donated more than 50 telescopes and dozens of binoculars to schools. Tose involved in the project hope astronomy can be a gateway to trans- forming Tanzania’s STEM (science, technology, engineer- ing and math) curriculum.
A love of astronomy “One people, one sky” is the Astronomers Without Borders motto, but it also sums up the learnings of the Ruehles, who love astronomy and, when home, make pre-sunrise visits to the shores of Lake Michigan for unobstructed views of the Racine, Wis., night sky. Sue previously served Adoration Lutheran Church in
Greenfield, Wis., and at the Greater Milwaukee Synod, while Chuck was executive director for Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training. Both share an inter- est in reinvigorating public education and have brought astronomy to U.S. schools too. “Astronomy is a way to get folks interested in sci-
ence and to see science as a giſt,” Sue said, adding that an incredible awe in God’s creation draws many in. Te Ruehls believe viewing stars, planets and comets through a telescope offers a sense of deep mystery. Tanzania’s unobstructed night sky is especially alluring. Last November they were ready for the solar eclipse
in Kin’gori, Tanzania. Twenty students and their teachers came to school on Saturday to learn from the Ruehles about the eclipse. Tey leſt with solar glasses and a few
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A look through the lens reveals ‘one people, one sky’ By Susan Barreto
small 30-millimeter scopes for solar projection. Teir teachers provided handouts in Kiswahili about the eclipse and how to create pinhole viewers. Te day of the eclipse, Nov. 3, was cloudy. Gathered
outside the Ailanga Junior Seminary, students wondered if they’d see anything—or if there was really anything to see. Suddenly a hole opened in the sky, and more than 300 students, teachers, villagers and leaders watched as 75 percent of the sun was obscured by the moon. History teacher Elineema Nassary incorporates
astronomy into classes at the Meru Diocese’s Kikatiti Secondary (high school), thanks to knowledge he picked up through Telescopes to Tanzania. Despite obstacles, which Nassary said include a lack of in-country astron- omy experts and advanced telescopes, he has been able to expand his school’s curriculum. “I am working hard to learn [and] I will get enough experience so as to share with my students and community at large,” he said. In class Nassary oſten debunks historical myths about
such objects as comets, once thought to be bad omens. And at one time astronomical objects were only used to detect seasons and weather. Pointing out that many house doors face west, he explained, “Tanzanians knew when they saw the sun shine in their doorframe what time it was.” Tanks to Telescopes to Tanzania, Nassary’s stu-
dents have a basic knowledge of constellations. Tey’ve observed the Great Orion Nebula, Venus, and Jupiter and its moons (Callisto, Europa, Ganymede and Io).But the proposed observatory and science education center would be a greater opportunity—students could use one of the region’s largest public telescopes. For now, Nassary’s students gather in the aſternoons
for Space Club. Meetings were held once a week, he said, “but [now] they want to meet every day. Tis is showing
to Tanzania
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