Astronomy Day celebration is April 17 at NU State Museum
Released on 04/06/2005, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Sunday, Apr. 17, 2005
WHERE: University of Nebraska State Museum & Mueller Planetarium, Morrill Hall, 14th and U Streets
Astronomy Day 2005 will be celebrated the afternoon of April 17 with plenty of cosmic family festivities at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets.
Astronomy Day will feature hands-on activities, interactive exhibits, displays, planetarium shows, and giveaways including a $900 Meade computerized telescope to one lucky winner (need not be present to win drawing).
Activities and demonstrations will run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on topics including robotics, rocketry, space travel, physics, astrophotography, the Hubble telescope, light pollution, constellations and much more. Outdoor activities will be conducted weather permitting.
Presenting organizations joining forces for the event include Mueller Planetarium, Astronomy Magazine, Meade Telescopes, the Prairie Astronomy Club, Hyde Observatory, the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy, Neb-Star, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Nebraska Air National Guard, the Air Force Association, UNL Air Force ROTC and others.
Admission to the NU State Museum is $8 for families, $4 for individual adults and $2 for children, or free with either a valid UNL ID or Friends of the Museum membership. Admission for Mueller Planetarium shows is additional. Free visitor parking is available in front of Morrill Hall. For more information, telephone (402) 472-2642 or visit the NU State Museum Web site (www.museum.unl.edu), or the Mueller Planetarium Web site (www.spacelaser.com).
A complete Astronomy Day 2005 schedule follows:
Saturday, April 16 -- "Star party" at Hyde Observatory, 3701 S. 70th St., in Holmes Park, sundown (8:08 p.m.) to 11 p.m. (free).
Sunday, April 17 -- Astronomy Day 2005 at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (admission charged); exhibits, displays and more. Mueller Planetarium shows schedule: 1:45 p.m., "The Sky Tonight" (12 minutes, free); 2 and 3:30, "Point of No Return" (30 minutes, admission charged); 2:45, "Hubblevision" (35 minutes, admission charged). UNL Student Observatory open house, 10th and T streets, 8-10:30 p.m. (weather permitting).
For further information:
Mueller Planetarium: Telephone Jack Dunn, planetarium coordinator, (402) 472-2641, e-mail Dunn or visit www.spacelaser.com.
Hyde Observatory: Telephone Erik Hubl, (402) 488-1698 or visit www.hydeobservatory.info.
UNL Student Observatory: E-mail Martin Gaskell, research associate professor and senior lecturer in physics and astronomy, e-mail or visit the observatory Web site.
CONTACT: Willo Stuart, NU State Museum, (402) 472-3779