Astronomy
Days at the Museum of Natural Sciences
Popular event expands to two days, includes live Mars Rover
update
January 8, 2004
For Immediate Release
For calendar and entertainment editors
Contact:
Karen Kemp (919) 733-7450,
ext. 304
(RALEIGH)--Just in time to help you learn about the robotic rovers now exploring Mars, the Museum of Natural Sciences wakes up winter with Astronomy Days, Saturday, Jan. 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 18, from noon to 5 p.m. Now encompassing two days, the free event offers more than 50 exhibits, activities and presentations to bring the heavens into sharper focus for novice astronomers and expert stargazers alike.
Highlights include the timely short movie Future Frontiers: Mars, an awe-inspiring, high-definition documentary of the development and launch of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Also, First Look, a live satellite broadcast from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories and the Spirit rover that landed on Mars January 3. First Look (Saturday only, 3-4 p.m.) will be moderated from Houston by Bill Nye the Science Guy. Visitors also may attend special presentations by nationally known experts on comets, supernovae, the weather and atmospheres on other planets.
Astronomy Days visitors can test drive a Mars rover model, safely view the sun through custom-built solar telescopes, and watch researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill use a desktop computer connected to the Internet to focus their huge Chilean telescope on different parts of the sky.
Activities for kids include Blast Off Rockets, a chance to build and launch their own bicarbonate-powered rocket outside the Museum; the Star Log Galactic Adventure scavenger hunt; and Space Pilots, in which participants attempt to guide space vehicles into the Warp Zone before the galaxy explodes.
Amazing astrophotography by Johnny Horne, a Fayetteville Observer-Times photographer, will be on special exhibit in the Museum Store’s Nature Art Gallery. In addition, the Museum welcomes nationally famous author Bob Zimmerman, who will discuss his new book, Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Super Powers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel.
No astronomy event would be complete with telescopes, and many will be available to examine, along with experts to offer tips on amateur astronomy. A program guide listing events and activity times will be available at the door. Food and beverages will be sold on site. Astronomy Days, co-sponsored by the non-profit Raleigh Astronomy Club, are free and open to all ages. For more information about club activities, visit the club’s Web site at http://rtpnet.org/rac, or call 919/460-7900. For more information about the event, please call 919/733-7450 or visit the Museum’s Web site at www.naturalsciences.org.
Schedule of presentations:
WRAL Digital Theater
Saturday
The Deep Impact Project: A Voyage of Cometary Discovery
Elizabeth Warner, Liaison to Amateur Astronomers and Deep Impact, University
of Maryland
11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
40 minutes
ages 8 and older
Future Frontiers: MARS
Short high-definition movie from Twist Films and The Science Museum of
Minnesota
9:15, 9:45, 10:15 a.m.
12:15, 12:45, 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.
ages 6 and older
First Look
Live interactive satellite broadcast from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories
and the Mars Exploration Rover
3:00–4:00 p.m.
ages 6 and older
Sunday
Supernovae
Dr. John Blondin, N.C. State University
1:00 and 3:30 p.m.
40 minutes
ages 8 and older
Future Frontiers: MARS
Short high-definition film
Twist Films and The Science Museum of Minnesota
12:15, 2:15, 2:45, and 4:45 p.m.
ages 6 and older
Windows on the World
Presentations appropriate for ages 8 and older
Saturday
Weather on Mars and Jupiter: Atmospheric Structure and Storms
Dr. Jerry Watson, Raleigh Astronomy Club
10:30 a.m., 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
25 minutes
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Super Powers, and the Quest for
Interplanetary Travel
Bob Zimmerman
11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
25 minutes
Sunday
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Super Powers, and the Quest for
Interplanetary Travel
Bob Zimmerman
12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
25 minutes
Telescope eyepieces
Harry Siebert, Siebert Optical
1:30 p.m.
25 minutes
Binoviewers
Harry Siebert, Siebert Optical
3:30 p.m.
25 minutes
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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