How do astronomers serve their communities? One example is through outreach programs designed to increase the scientific awareness of the general public. Here at The University of Western Ontario, our department runs one such program called Exploring the Stars. We invite any group interested in learning more about astronomy to join us for a lecture on a topic of their choice, and a chance to look through our historic 25.4 cm refractor telescope at the Cronyn Observatory on campus. The program instructors also host open houses at the observatory on the last Saturday of each month (tonight from 7pm-9pm!) during the school year and every Saturday from 8:30pm-11pm during the summer. More information can be found at these links:

http://www.astro.uwo.ca/exploringthestars/

http://physics.uwo.ca/outreach/public_nights.html