Kids Have Opportunity to Learn Wonders of Universe

It’s a chance to soar through the clouds, touch the stars, plant your feet on Mars and freeze on a comet.

And it’s all happening Wednesday evening.

AstroFest is a four-night event that’s held every year by Penn State’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

It’s an opportunity for people to learn more about science and get children interested in space, says Nina Bumgarner, a staff assistant.

Each night will include presentations, planetarium shows, craft making, science projects — and weather permitting — star gazing from atop Davey Laboratory on the Penn State campus.

The lab has professional-grade telescopes on it’s roof that the department no longer uses for research. They’ve been converted to teaching tools.

“We have two in the dome that are 12 inch telescopes,” Bumgarner says, “Then we have several stand alone telescopes that we’ll put out if the clouds go away.”

Even if the night is too cloudy to see the heavens kids can still work their way through a number indoor stations including bottle rocket launching, an astronomy quiz, a 3-D space tour show and more.

Children can also win prizes for visiting the required number of stations.

“They have a guide or a schedule, and they get stamps on the guide,” Bumgarner says. “For five stamps they get a prize, and when they’re done for the night the come down and pick a prize.”

The shows and presentations are run by a mix of researchers, professors and graduate students.

If you’re interested in more advanced science, AstroFest also offers ‘Astrophysics of Time’ which is hosted by faculty member Derek Fox.

Presentations will include a tour of galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope, searching for life in space, a show on comet and asteroid impacts, and AstroFest’s annual Astronomy Idol.

“Astronomy Idol is when two or more people give a three minute talk about astronomy,” Bumgarner says. “They’re allowed to use props but not Powerpoints. And the people in the audience vote which talk was the best.”

Each night’s Idol winners will compete on Saturday to crown this year’s champion.

AstroFest runs from Wednesday to Saturday from 8:30-11 p.m. at Davey Laboratory which is located on Pollock Road.

For more information about AstroFest’s activities and schedule click HERE.