KAST Presents Star Lab Planetarium
By Contributor
The Kootenay Association for Science & Technology and the HR Macmillan Space Centre are please to be bringing the Star Lab Planetarium Tour to the Kootenays. Whether you’re interested in looking at constellations, understanding the seasons, or exploring the Solar System, Starlab: The Portable Planetarium brings astronomy to life in our backyard.
KAST is proud to be able to share these wonders with our communities with a free family evening, June 12, from 7-10pm at Selkirk College, Castlegar Campus.
This evening will include 15 minute tours of the HR Macmillan’s Starlab: The Portable Planetarium as well as an illustrated discussion of the Solar System looking through a large telescope. Interact with local Backyard astronomer from our own communities who will not only share their equipment with everyone but share their knowledge and experiences as well. There will be fun kid activities and a free bbq. Don’t forget to bring your telescope, local backyard astronomers can help you learn to get the most of it.
“We were pleased with the number of local backyard astronomers who volunteered to help with this event”, says Terry Van Horn, KAST Program Coordinator for the KAST GLOWS program – Growing Learning Opportunities With Science.
“2009 is the Year of Astronomy and KAST is excited to celebrate this initiative by bringing these experiences to our community. The HR Macmillan’s Starlab is currently visiting 21 schools in our region with specialized presentations for varied grade levels. The three week tour booked up so fast that we never really had an opportunity to approach all schools and have had many more inquires to bring this back already” says Van Horn.
In addition to the evening family event, as a special treat to KAST members, the StarLab presentation will be part of their Annual General Meeting June 10th 6pm. “It’s great to be able to incorporate one of our youth initiatives into an event that is usually more formal and adult focused”, says Kelvin Saldern, Executive Director for KAST. Current and new members are welcome to register for KAST AGM, visit www.kast.com for more info.
