Ray Hahn has been an integral part of our children’s lives over the years as he taught them the love of astronomy using StarLab.
The article below reproduced from the Massapequan Observer (http://www.antonnews.com/massapequanobserver/news/19876-starlab-presentation-at-birch-lane.html) explains how Ray has been delighting our children for decades.
Starlab Presentation at Birch Lane
Friday, 23 December 2011 00:00
Learning from the master of the planetarium
Mrs. Emmerich’s third-grade students from Birch Lane school visited the Starlab at the Massapequa High School. Raymond Hahn gave an informative presentation in an amazing inflatable planetarium. The children enjoyed sitting in a circle in the dark, looking up at the stars singing “Raining Sunshine.” They learned about stars, planets, constellations and many other things pertaining to space.
The Planetarium was co-purchased by the Massapequa School District and the Massapequa Teachers’ Center (M-TRACT) in 1990. Originally the planetarium was transported to each elementary school where teachers at those schools conducted presentations for classes. After much wear and tear, Raymond Hahn took on the responsibility the Starlab and found a location for the Starlab to permanently be at one location.
Raymond Hahn and the students.
Hahn teaches all six of the elementary schools in the district. In addition, he created and conducts topic-specific presentations for the high school astronomy classes. The very dark environment of Starlab is also ideal for the study of light.
“I know that this sounds crazy, but studying light in a very dark environment is necessary in order to see such things as the Spectra of the Elements,” Hahn said. “Since spectral analysis is a topic covered in both chemistry and physics classes, I created a special presentation which I call my Spectracular Presentation, in order to demonstrate this phenomenon to those classes.”
This is the 42nd year of teaching in the Massapequa School District for Raymond Hahn. Over the years he has taught general science, earth science, astronomy and physics. He especially enjoys doing the Starlab presentations for the elementary school students.
If you’ve never seen StarLab, take a look at the following video.
Ray is in the science department at Massapequa High School and unfortunately Massapequa will lose him to retirement this year. We congratulate Ray for being a motivating force in his students’ lives.
And THAT’S what teaching is all about…
M-TRACT 
Mr Hahn.. I still think about how you made a difference to me, 40 yrs later..Thanks for being one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.
Ray – you are a teacher that I have, and always will, aspire to become! Your love of your craft and your subject matter (especially astronomy) made me proud to work with you. Thank You!
Thanks for the kind words Mike. I would like to thank you for all of the support that you gave me through our years working together, not to mention the many interesting Astronomy articles that you sent me. You have been a great contributor to my teaching success and I would like to thank YOU for that! Best wishes for the future!!!