Welcome to Manitou Springs High School, Astronomy Club. From Key Club to Movie Club, MSHS has had many clubs over the years with many participants. MSHS used to have nine clubs, but now has 10 as the new Astronomy Club has officially started.
Astronomy Club is a student-led group, run by senior Isaac Boczkiewicz and sophomore Indigo Bates, along with teacher Andrew Slama of the science department. For both of the student club presidents, this is their first time running a club. “I never envisioned myself being a club president,” senior Isaac Boczkiewicz said. “I’m very excited about the future of this club.”
But what does the Astronomy Club look like? “We learn about space science and astronomical science while having fun doing it,” Boczkiewicz said.
His club co-president, Bates, echoes much of the same. “We do space Kahoots and we like to watch fun videos about planets and astronomy,” Bates said. “We’re about learning while having fun.”
Already sponsoring Knowledge Bowl and Movie Club, Andrew Slama finds himself excited to be a part of the new club on the block. “Astronomy Club has never existed in my time. It existed right before I showed up, and the interest and the excitement is kind of contagious. It’s fun to see people really excited about space, I love space. It’s intoxicating. It’s a good time,” Slama said.
Of course, with two club presidents, Slama gets the chance to take a step back and relax. “It’s really inspiring to see high schoolers taking charge and getting underclassmen excited,” Slama said. “I’m pleasantly surprised how collaborative and positive it is. It’s really fun to see them be super positive and encouraging to everybody. That doesn’t happen all the time.”
Though they have only met a few times, Astronomy is already one of the most popular clubs in the entire school. “We had 29 students the first meeting, and I think we’re leveling out around 25 so far,” Slama said.
In a school of 359 students, a whole seven percent of the school attends regularly, with more attending from time to time. “We’re talking about space movies, doing bake sales, potentially for fundraisers. Basically, I think the spirit right now is just to nerd out about space and to learn. Last year, I spent time kind of rehabbing the old telescope. So we’re kind of ready to go if we can figure out a good time and a good event,” Slama said. “The ultimate goal is to get outside at night with some of our old telescopes.”
Overall, Slama has high hopes for current and future attendees. “Show up and have a good attitude, and that’s pretty much it,” Slama said. “Nowadays, with a waning public interest and passion in the sciences, to see young people excited about science and to understand the importance of it is more important than a lot of other things I can think of at this moment.”
