Moving right along . . .

Planetarium life has been pretty hectic the last two months. Family Science Night saw over 100 children and adults for the Halloween activity . . . too many for the planetarium, so in November we moved into Bassett Auditorium at the Roswell Museum and Art Center. This time the focus was density . . . we had over 70 children and adults come to make Cartesian divers, density layered tubes, salt density straws and other fun stuff. December was a bit weak with only 10, but we mixed colors, sorted blacks into other colors, and made blended Sharpie designs. I am hoping that attendance will pick up in January when we do glow in the dark slime, worms and stuff.

Classroom activities for December were magnets . . . lots of them and experiments with magnets, iron filings, and assorted mixtures. We explored cow magnets, magnetic games old and new, built magnetic tangrams and learned about the properties of magnets and the materials to which they are attracted.
December also features the annual holiday star show a the planetarium, “Tis the Season.” On the 5th was the Science Saturday show where kids made holiday ornaments and photo frames. Two more public shows of the show will be on December 18and 19 at 7pm. It’s a nice way to start the holiday season. The other public show on December 17 continues the history of space exploration with the show “Mercury Rising.” In this segment Yuri Gagarin beats Alan Shepard into space by three weeks. Project Mercury creates instant heroes and awakens a new national purpose. The race for the moon begins.

Exciting happenings in January

Two exciting events are happening at the planetarium and Roswell Museum and Art Center. The tentative date for Fractals!, from Lodestar Planetarium in Albuquerque, is January 21st. Check with the Goddard Planetarium in January for the exact date. The second exciting event is a NASA exhibit, open to the public on January 29 and 30. This is scheduled to be in Bassett Auditorium, the last I heard. NASA’s Driven to Explore (DTE) exhibit provides an interactive learning experience for the public. This mobile multimedia experience showcases the Shuttle Program, the progress of the International Space Station and benefits of space exploration leading into NASA’s next major program, Constellation. The walking tour includes breathtaking imagery and state-of-the-art models of the Constellation Program’s next-generation launch vehicles and human spacecraft destined for use to explore the moon and beyond. Striving to inform and inspire, the self-contained interactive exhibit gives visitors the opportunity to touch a 3 billion-year-old moon rock, the exhibit’s main attraction, which was brought back by Apollo 17 in 1972 during the last manned mission to the moon. Visitors also get to learn more about the development of America’s next-generation launch vehicles, as well as what it will take to sustain a working and living outpost on the moon. From schools and universities to science centers and museums, DTE takes NASA to a diverse audience, delivering a personal experience by nurturing public interest in human exploration, and encouraging students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and math.