The last summer Library program was Wednesday, July 6 at the Marcus Public Library. Summer programs have been in coordination with this year’s theme “Read Beyond the Beaten Path. Programs have been on what kids can do to have fun during the summer—like camping. There was a presentation on magic followed by an animal zoo visit. Summer brings insects and an insect visit let us know more about insects. Now the last program was on Space!
Kerissa Pingle and Linda Burkhart came over from Sanford Museum in Cherokee to present a space presentation. There was a large telescope upfront that gave a clue as to what the program was going to be about.
After everyone was settled in, Krista asked the kids if they knew Dr. Suess’s, Cat in the Hat. Of course, they were all acquainted with him! She showed us a book that told us all about our Solar System. Cat in the Hat was going to take us, Thing One, and Thing Two to visit the Planets, Stars, and even the Sun in his rocket ship. He was going to prove to us that “there is no place like space.”
How many of us know much about space? Cat in the Hat is going to take us up high, past the Stars and the Planets. But, first we have to have on our space suits and head gear before we take off.
We are headed for the Planets in our Solar System. There are 8 Planets that circle the Sun. The first one we see is Mercury that is very close to the Sun. The Sun makes it very hot in the daytime but it is freezing at night. The next Planet we see is Venus. This planet is always hot, dry, and windy. It never gets any rain.
The next Planet is Cat in the Hat’s home and also home to Thing On and Thing Two. It is the third Planet from the Sun. Can you guess what it is? One kid said, “Earth?” That was right! Earth spins all the time. It turns once every day and will never stop. Thing One and Thing Two had a question—why don’t we feel dizzy if the Earth is always spinning? Good question. We are spinning with the Earth as it spins so we don’t feel the spinning.
We are now at Mars. It has a color of rust and is covered with dust. The rocket passengers begin to sneeze. Dust will make us sneeze. Are we ready to find the next Planet that is bigger than all the other 7 Planets together? It is called Jupiter. Hey, look everyone! Do you see the next Planet that has rings around it? It is Saturn and is so lightweight that it could float in an ocean and would never sink. Isn’t that amazing?
We are nearing a Planet that has Satellites surrounding it. It is Uranus and has many of these. Do you see our number 8 Planet called Neptune? It has the color of blue. Do you know we can play a game in the skies? It is a game where we can connect all the stars that you see with your eyes. You might say it is like the dot-to-dot we do on paper to find an object. The Stars connected could be a lion, bear, or anything you might see that looks like an animal. These connections are called Constellations.
When we look up and see the stars, they don’t look very big but a Star is a big, glowing ball and it is hot. Did you know that the Sun is a Star? When we look up and see the Sun, it looks big and it is, because of all the Stars it is a Star that is closest to Earth. The Sun is so big that it would take a million of our Earths to fit in it.
We must take time to take a look at the Moon before we return home. The Moon doesn’t shine at night but reflects (like a mirror when you look in a mirror and see yourself) the Sun’s light. Many years ago people called Astronauts flew to the Moon in a rocket to explore it. The Astronauts walked on the Moon and even drove on it in a special car called a lunar rover.
Our Universe is a place of mystery. It includes Earth, the Planets, the Stars, and all of Space. Cat in the Hat brought out a Telescope for his passengers to get a better look at the sky. A Telescope has lenses that make objects faraway appear to be closer. It is time to end our journey and head back to the Library.
Now that we know something about Space, the kids went to the floor to use small microscopes to look at slides that showed formations that Stars make, the Planets, and the Moon. They concluded this informative program by going outside and looking through a special telescope to see the Sun. Remember, you should not look right at the Sun as your eyes could be hurt. While one group was looking at the Sun, another group was looking through a telescope to see the Moon. The kids each were given a pair of special glasses.
On a summer night, go outside and look up at the sky. Take a look at all the stars and see if you can connect any of them with other stars to make an animal or another figure. Look at the moon and think of what you just heard about the astronauts that visited the moon, walked on it, and even drove on it. Summer time can be a fun time and even more so with what you have learned through these programs!