Donation keeps kids looking up

BRANDON SCHOOLS – There are still galaxies in this universe waiting to be discovered, and there are still young minds eager to pioneer the discoveries.
“Even though we’ve had this tragedy with the Space Shuttle Columbia, the students say it is important to continue to search for knowledge,” said high school science teacher Jamie Martin.
“I’ve heard from both teachers and students that they would still be willing to go into space if they had the chance.”
For the students of Martin and Lisa Bucchare, the search for astro-knowledge can now begin right in their own classroom.
Last month Brandon Township resident Tim Allison donated an $8,000 professional grade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.
Martin said she is familiar with the functions of this telescope because she owns a less sophisticated model. She is grateful to Allison for donating the opportunity to open the astronomical realm to students.
Martin hopes introducing the learning tool to her students, as well as her science club, will greatly enhance their ability to understand astronomy, astrophotography and astro-mappings.
With a greater understanding of the equipment, Martin hopes to eventually start an astronomy club to complement the science club.
By trade, Allison is a robotics engineer who in the mid-1980s was awarded a technical utilization award from NASA. The recognition was for developing a means of measuring a robot’s ability for a continuous weld path for the space shuttle Columbia’s main engine.
By hobby, he has been a backyard stargazer since his teens. While he has enjoyed infinite hours of star charting and nebulous peering, he said it’s time to inspire interest in another generation of scientists.
“I decided to let it serve a greater purpose and get much use,” said Allison. “This is a colorful way to get a young mind’s attention.”
Allison said he donated the telescope to the high school because, according to his daughter, Amy, a sophomore at Brandon, the school had no resource to study astronomy.
While Martin and Bucchare said they are very grateful for such an exceptional donation to the Brandon School District, Allison modestly volleyed that in six months, maybe the students will be able to teach him a thing or two about the capabilities of the telescope.
“It doesn’t take much to spark an interest in a young scientist,” Allison said. “If a couple kids per year get their interest peaked, to open the world a little bit more for them, that is all I’m looking for.”