  We describe a three hour inquiry activity involving converging lenses and
telescopes as part of a semester-long astronomy lab course for non-science
majors at Hartnell Community College in Salinas, CA. Students were shown
several short demonstrations and given the chance to experiment with the
materials, after which there was a class discussion about the phenomena they
observed. Students worked in groups of 2-4 to design their own experiments to
address a particular question of interest to them and then presented their
findings to the class. An instructor-led presentation highlighted the students'
discoveries and the lab's content goals, followed by a short worksheet-based
activity that guided them in applying their new knowledge to build a simple
telescope using two converging lenses. The activity was successful in
emphasizing communication skills and giving students opportunities to engage in
the process of science in different ways. One of the biggest challenges in
designing this activity was covering all of the content given the short amount
of time available. Future implementations may have more success by splitting
the lab into two sessions, one focusing on converging lenses and the other
focusing on telescopes.
