Mission
Starry Sky Austin provides astronomy outreach and education for all ages. Using hands-on activities, experiential lessons and small group instruction, we inspire people to become lifelong learners, grow in awareness of our place in the universe, and truly connect with the cosmos.
Amy is the founder and director of Starry Sky Austin. She loves the stars and hopes to inspire others to learn about them and love them as much as she does!
Amy is curious about her natural world, how it works and how we come to understand our place in it. She constantly looks for ways to communicate science in a creative and personal way. She studied physics at the University of Houston. There she learned about astronomy and helped to re-open the University of Houston observatory. She graduated from Rice University’s Master of Science Teaching program and is a certified science teacher for grades 4-8. She has taught at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, in private and public schools, for UT Informal Classes, the Austin Nature and Science Center, public and private programs and at Reimers Observatory. A mother of 3, she has been spreading her love of the night sky through her published children’s book “Cassandra and the Night Sky“, a new star story she wrote and her mother illustrated to inspire children to look up a the stars and wonder. She is the former Central Texas Regional Manager of the Texas Chapter of the International Dark Sky Association. She participated as a member of the IDA sponsored Texas Night Sky Festival organizational team. Amy traveled to Chile to visit the world’s largest telescopes as an 2017 ACEAP ambassador in NRAO’s and NOAO’s Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador Program. She ran planetarium programs for Austin ISD in 2017-2018. She worked as an astronomy educator for Reimers Observatory and Travis County Milton Reimers Ranch Park for several years and helped the park to obtain their IDA dark sky park designation. Amy has contracted with the Hill Country Alliance Night Skies team to support dark sky conservation in the Central Texas region. She has a certificate in Geographic Information Systems and is currently a MS Geography graduate student at Texas State University and interested in the capabilities of GIS and Geography for understanding the impacts of light pollution.
Collaborators
Dawn Davies, also known as Earthbound Astronomer , is an amateur astronomer, a science educator, a creator, a geek, a wife, a mother and a nine to fiver. Most of all she’s a lover of dark nights and clear skies. She served two years as president of the Austin Astronomical Society and served as the Outreach Coordinator for 4 years. She also served as the Vice President and Secretary. Currently, she is the society’s Astronomical League Coordinator (ALCOR). Dawn is also an active educator for the Texas Night Sky Festival. On the observing field, she is never without her eyepiece case of explore scientific beauties, her celestial teapot planisphere and her arsenal of maps, charts and apps. She loves talking about all things astronomy with special interests in constellation myth and citizen science. Each month you can spot Dawn at the North Door attending Astronomy on Tap and on the University of Texas campus attending the monthly Austin Astronomical Society general meeting. She is excited to collaborate with Starry Sky Austin in delivering the Girl Scouts of Central Texas Space Science Badge programs this year.
Lucia Brimer has a new endeavor called Stars and Science Austin. Check it out! Lucia has over 20 years experience teaching astronomy, physics and other sciences to students of all ages, both children and adults. Along with teaching child and adult stargazing classes for Starry Sky Austin, Lucia was also the Mobile Education Manager for the Texas Museum of Science & Technology in Cedar Park, where she ran the mobile planetarium program since 2010.
Past Educators
I am a recent UT Austin graduate with a degree in Astronomy. I have been involved in education regarding all ages, having taught at a swim school, elementary school, and middle school. During my college career, I have been focusing on astronomy education and outreach, having had worked at McDonald Observatory in West Texas, the Painter Hall Observatory in Austin, and other outreach programs with the Astronomy Students Association, teaching in both English and Spanish. Saul Rivera, a past Starry Sky Austin employee, now works at the McDonald Observatory! Congratulations Saul!
From the moment his parents gave him an encyclopedia on space, Joseph was instantly hooked on astronomy. During his first year at college, a friend recommended that he watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. From there, his fascination with the Universe exploded, and countless hours were spent learning the constellations and finding planets and deep space objects with his telescope and binoculars. He carried his fascination of space with him while he attended Texas A&M International University in Laredo, starting the TAMIU Astronomy Club and hosting many public star parties for the community with the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Three years ago, he transferred to UT Austin to study astronomy, and is currently in his Junior year. Joseph still enjoys stargazing, but what he enjoys even more is introducing people to the wonders of the night sky. After graduation he hopes to work in astronomy education. For him, watching people get excited as they look through a telescope and see Jupiter and its moons or the Orion nebula for the first time will never lose its charm. Joseph has moved on to exciting things. During his time with Starry Sky Austin, he taught classes and private programs, spreading his love and knowledge of the night sky.
Astronomy has always been a subject that has fascinated Ben. His interest developed into a hobby in high school when he discovered the moons of Jupiter with a simple pair of binoculars. Inspired by these experiences Ben went on to study astronomy at The University of Texas. He now enjoys hosting star parties for friends, family, and the public, including visits to the South Llano River State Park. He loves to inspire others with wonder and curiosity for their surroundings and the universe. Ben is currently involved with astronomy education and outreach in the Austin area.
Ben Brandenburg has moved on to exciting things. During his time with Starry Sky Austin, he taught UT Informal Class Stargazing classes and spread his knowledge and love of the night sky through our programs.