Science Center open house
features planetarium technology
EASTON — The Francis Malcolm Science Center will host its annual Open House Come with a day of fun-filled festivities on Saturday, April 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A schedule of events includes:
• Corporate planetarium provider Spitz, Inc. from Chadds Ford, Penn., will offer two demonstrations of the new SciDome Digital Planetarium technology;
• WAGM Meteorologist Ted Shapiro will teach you how anyone can make a short-term forecast simply by knowing how to read the ‘signs’;
• Tim Duda and Michael Hill from the National Weather Service in Caribou will display a variety of weather-related “gadgets and gizmos”, as well as provide informative talks ranging from hurricanes & lightening, to how to pursue a career in meteorology;
• A model rocket launch. Safe yet explosive, the rocket should soar some hundreds of feet into the air before safely landing, dragging a streamer along to stem its acceleration Earthward;
• View our “Ocean Touch Tank”, a hands-on experience with ocean animals from the inter-tidal zone. Our 3-foot by 5-foot ocean simulator tank is always chilled at 48 degrees F to allow the animals to be housed here in northern Maine. Come see and touch invertebrates like sea stars, lobsters, sea cucumbers, crabs, sea urchins, and more!
• Join in a ‘hair raising’ experience … literally! The Van de Graaf generator dome produces a massive voltage of static charge. By placing your hand on the dome, this accumulated static charge causes your hair to stand up in all directions!
• Children may participate in a treasure hunt to take place in the woods across the Center. Follow a trail looking for objects and materials listed on the treasure hunt worksheet. Every participant will receive a prize; a special award awaits the child finding the most treasures.
Science Center staff plan to announce plans to modernize the facility’s planetarium during the open house.
“This Science Center arrived in your lives in 1983 with the unique mission to offer excellence in astronomy, life, physical, and environmental education. In these nearly 30 years of operation, over 100,000 men, women, and children now carry within them the seeds of science awareness from enriched encounters and programs with national leaders in education,” said Larry Berz, science educator and planetarium director.
He explained that the Science Center plans to upgrade the analog planetarium projection/sound system in the near future with a state-of-art digital model. “We choose to install SciDome, at a $250,000 price tag … because of the great leap forward in visual science and mathematical education which will place for our children and grandchildren in a competitive and marketable position as adults and professionals within the overall national and global arena,” said Berz.
For more information on the Open House or the planetarium upgrade project, call the Science Center at 488-5451 or visit their website www.francismalcolmsciencecenter.com.
