Friday, January 27 9:24 am
The Story Pirates will perform Museum-themed stories written by kids. Photo courtesy of Story Pirates. Click to enlarge.
On Saturday, February 4, the Story Pirates, a media and arts group that celebrates the words and ideas of young authors through comedy, will bring kids’ stories about the Museum to life by acting them out on the stage. Story Pirate Sam Reiff-Pasarew recently answered a few questions about the upcoming production, Story Pirates: My Museum Story.
What will the Story Pirates perform at the Museum?
Sam Reiff-Pasarew: We’ll be performing a sketch comedy show based on stories written by kids. We asked kids at the Museum’s SpaceFest! and after-school programs to submit stories that take place at the Museum, and our actors are adapting those stories into live theater with costumes, props, music, and puppets. We’ll also perform some of our most popular stories written by kids across the country. Read more »
Thursday, January 12 10:32 am
© NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
On January 15, the Museum celebrates all things space with SpaceFest!, a day of festivities, activities, and performances devoted to the universe. Join astronomer Ted Williams throughout the day to learn about seasonal constellations, use digital apps to understand other planets, and take a virtual tour of the sky in StarLab, the Museum’s portable planetarium. Below, Williams answers a few questions about what he’ll be presenting and offers some tips for the warmest ways to stargaze during the coldest months.
What is StarLab?
StarLab is a traveling portable planetarium that inflates to become a large dome on which we project the night sky. It can show us apparent motions of the sky along with the location of some 88 constellations visible from Earth. Our presentation will be an interactive experience where visitors explore the night sky together using handheld lasers to find constellations and planets in a more personal setting than the larger dome of the Hayden Planetarium.
What will you be teaching visitors at SpaceFest! about finding constellations in the winter sky?
We will have visitors find winter constellations such as Orion and Taurus and compare seasonal constellations with circumpolar constellations, which are always in the sky. We’ll also demonstrate some free apps available for cell phones and other devices that can be used to find Jupiter and Saturn, explore what Venus looks like below its clouds, and observe the Moon with a detailed map of terrain and landing sites of lunar missions.
Read more »
