StarLab comes to Family Nature Night

“Do you want to know the difference between comets, meteors, asteroids and meteorites?” asked naturalist Ashley Hansen.

She will explain these differences during the next Family Nature Night Friday, July 26, at the Dickinson County Nature Center.

A portable StarLab inflatable planetarium will be set up in Pollinator Paradise for programs at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. during which Hansen will talk about space rocks and stars.

“Talking about space blows my mind. If I think too hard about it, it gets me. The stars we see right now aren’t where they are because the light takes so long to get here,” Hansen said. “We know a lot about space, but we don’t know a lot about space.”

Due to a late sunset in the summertime, it is hard to hold outdoor astronomy programs, so the StarLab makes it possible to do indoors. The sky is also a part of nature that is accessible to everyone.

“I like the beauty of it,” Hansen said. “It’s nature, but in a different way. It’s a whole other realm of gasses and rocks and ice. You feel so small in such a vast place we live in.”

The StarLab programs are limited to 25 people each, so make sure to call 712-336-6352 to pre-register. Each program will last approximately 45 minutes and is best for elementary-aged students and older, because everyone will be seated for the duration.

The StarLab is handicap-accessible, and some chairs will be provided but anyone who can will be asked to be seated on the floor for ease of viewing.

Pollinator Paradise will closed on July 26 as the StarLab is being set up.

For more information on free, monthly Family Nature Nights, visit our programs page. You can also keep up on the latest happenings on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.