astronomy

JWST Anniversary Activities

2023-06-19T19:27:57-06:00

(The primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope after being assembled at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Gunn) An amazing space telescope, that is rewriting astronomy books, has a big anniversary coming up! July 12, 2023 will be the 1-year anniversary of the first images release from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). There are many ways for libraries to participate, and there will be another special image release on July 12 to commemorate the anniversary. To find out information about hosting your own event in partnership with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STSI) [...]

JWST Anniversary Activities2023-06-19T19:27:57-06:00

Summer is For Solar Systems

2023-06-18T10:39:31-06:00

(Christopher Mick pictured with adhesive sidewalk graphics that contained information on each planet and were applied at the appropriate distances from each other on the sidewalks starting at the Hudson library and continuing on for a 1-mile scale Solar System Walk, based on the Sun being 8-inches across)   The vast size of our Solar System can be a hard concept to get across to visitors at your library. Luckily there are several fun and interactive ways to represent the scale of our Solar System for multiple age groups, indoor and outdoor, from a strip of paper to a mile-long walking tour beginning at [...]

Summer is For Solar Systems2023-06-18T10:39:31-06:00

Look Up! Featured Activity – NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

2022-05-20T10:39:50-06:00

Credit: NASA This content was written by Dillon Connelly from the Space Science Institute  Celebrate the first images of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with this featured activity: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope  In this activity, you and your patrons will assemble a paper model of the James Webb Space Telescope. The model allows you to assemble the JWST from its three main elements. Facilitate as an in-person program at your library or a Take & Make activity.  Time to complete: 15-30 minutes  Ages: Upper Elementary, Middle, High School, Family  Modification and Preparation List   Total Cost: cost of printing and assembly [...]

Look Up! Featured Activity – NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope2022-05-20T10:39:50-06:00

Look Up! Featured Activity – Life Cycle of a Massive Star 

2021-11-08T12:20:42-07:00

Celebrate the upcoming launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope using a new Toolkit of five interactive activities. This month’s featured activity is Life Cycle of a Massive Star. Explore the life cycle of stars with your patrons! Provide this craft as a library program, Take & Make activity, or send patrons home with a life cycle bookmark. Don't have access to plastic pony beads? Make your own paper beads with an alternate version of the activity here. Time to complete: 20-40 minutes Ages: 5 years and up Shopping and Preparation List Total Cost:  $1-5 and printing   Fundamental Space Science [...]

Look Up! Featured Activity – Life Cycle of a Massive Star 2021-11-08T12:20:42-07:00

Look Up! Featured Activity – Mission to Space Board Game 

2021-11-10T11:28:57-07:00

Celebrate the upcoming launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope using a new Toolkit of five interactive activities. This month’s featured activity is Mission to Space Board Game.  Patrons play a board game in which they represent a team of scientists and engineers sending a spacecraft on a mission to space. Assemble the pieces of this tabletop board game to use in library or outreach programs. It includes instructions in English and in Spanish.  Time to complete: 40 minutes to 1 hour  Ages: 4 years and up  Shopping and Preparation List Total Cost: Cost of printing cards and board Fundamental Space Science Concepts – How Mission [...]

Look Up! Featured Activity – Mission to Space Board Game 2021-11-10T11:28:57-07:00

Look Up! Featured Activity – The Expanding Universe: Playing with Time

2021-10-04T16:23:20-06:00

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows galaxies from 550 million years ago to 13 billion years ago.  Celebrate the upcoming launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope using a new Toolkit of five interactive activities. This month’s featured activity is The Expanded Universe: Playing with Time.  Patrons use balloons to model the expansion of the Universe! Use stickers and markers to explore how the expansion affects wavelengths of light and distance between galaxies. Facilitate as an in-person program at your library, as an outreach activity, or as a demonstration for a virtual program.  Time to complete: 10-45 minutes  Ages: 12 years and up   Shopping and Preparation List Total Cost:  $5 (as a [...]

Look Up! Featured Activity – The Expanding Universe: Playing with Time2021-10-04T16:23:20-06:00

10, 9, 8, 7….3, 2, 1, Launch America!!!

2020-05-26T22:12:05-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, and socially distanced Memorial Day Holiday! Now to prepare for the historic event tomorrow that will mark the first launch of American astronauts into space in an American rocket from an American launchpad since the shuttle program was retired in 2011. The crew for this mission are Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley:                   They will be launching from Launch Complex 39A in a SpaceX Crew Dragon carried into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket.  The lift-off is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 27. For special access to additional information, [...]

10, 9, 8, 7….3, 2, 1, Launch America!!!2020-05-26T22:12:05-06:00

Build Your Own Solar System and Resource Update

2020-05-20T23:47:31-06:00

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone is healthy and at home. To start off, I want to share this really cool resource I found this morning, and which has kept me distracted (granted that isn't hard to do) for longer than I care to admit.  It's an online game in which you get to create your own solar system, and watch it develop through time.  Thankfully it isn't real time, or we'd be waiting for interesting developments for a veeerrrry loooooooong time.  Instead, it passes through a million years every minute. That's 1,000,000 years every minute.  Keep an eye on it the [...]

Build Your Own Solar System and Resource Update2020-05-20T23:47:31-06:00

On-line Resources for Homebound Families #1

2020-03-22T17:21:41-06:00

I, like the rest of the country, am at home these days.  Fortunately for me, I have always been good at keeping myself entertained.  Today though, many kids aren't as good at that as in generations past.  Anyone in my childhood household who said the word 'bored' would get such a long list of chores to do from my mother that the word would never pass through those lips again. In an attempt to help out families everywhere who are in a situation they never imagined could happen, I have been scouring the internet.  I have several goals in mind.  The [...]

On-line Resources for Homebound Families #12020-03-22T17:21:41-06:00

Mercury is on the Main Stage Monday!

2019-11-08T17:47:08-07:00

There is going to be a special event this coming Monday.  The planet Mercury will be passing between the Sun and the Earth.  It's called a Mercury Transit, and it is a rare occurrence.  The next time such an event will be visible from the United States will be 2049.  There will be one in 2032 and another in 2039, but they won't be visible to anyone in North America. A Mercury Transit is when the planet Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun.  Unlike an eclipse, which is visible to the human eye, anyone who wants to watch the [...]

Mercury is on the Main Stage Monday!2019-11-08T17:47:08-07:00
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