Starter Kit. Idea 98 of 500. Cluster 4
Stargazing nights at Sigiriya and the reservoirs with astronomers from the universities
The mechanism, from the book
An app that tells people what is happening tonight converts a day visit into a 2-night stay.
The first step
Contact the physics or astronomy department of a university and ask whether a lecturer or student would guide a stargazing night at a reservoir or near Sigiriya for a fee. Book a guesthouse's garden, sell 10 places, and ask each guest what they would pay next time. A full evening is the proof.
- Who pays first
- Guesthouses near the reservoirs and Sigiriya, and their guests who want a night activity with a real expert.
- What leaves today
- The universities hold expertise visitors never meet; a stargazing night pays for it and keeps visitors another night.
Ask first
- Central Cultural Fund. Ask whether evening gatherings near Sigiriya are allowed.
- the Divisional Secretariat. Ask who controls the land by the reservoir for evening events.
Check before you spend
That the site allows evening gatherings, that astronomers are paid fairly for their time, and that guests are safe in the dark.
Find out these three numbers
- What will visitors pay for a stargazing night?
- How many astronomers would take part in a season?
- How many clear nights fall in the dry season?
A comparison from the book
Sigiriya. Chapter Five
"Storytelling under the moon: the legends of the rock, the king and the fortress."
Night at the rock is something to stay for, as the book's evening plan shows.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.