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By: Beth Bemis
In celebration of Explorit Science Center's 15th anniversary, and to thank the community of Davis and the surrounding region for its support through the years, two Community Science Nights will be held in upcoming weeks. On August 16th and September 20, people of all ages are invited to spend an evening filled with science activities and discovery.
On August 16th, bring your family to Explorit for an exciting, fun-filled evening. From 6 to 8 p.m., Explorit Science Center will be hosting a smorgasbord of activities to pique your science appetite. Tables from Science In Your World, one of Explorit's outreach programs, will be set up for visitors young and old. Try your hand at building bridges or explore different types of birds' eggs.
As a special treat, prototypes for the newest outreach program, Math In Your World, will also be out for exploration. These activities are still in the development stages; Explorit welcomes your opinions and evaluations. Help Explorit advance and improve these new avenues of discovery.
There will be many other science favorites awaiting your amusement and fascination. And in the back, the sand-pool will be the arena for a sand castle building contest in the early evening.
A special guest will also be available to answer questions and lead activities related to astronomy. Dennis Smith, Explorit's Astronomy Club host, will "channel" the spirit of Galileo Galilei. "They" will unveil the Astronomy Club's brand new giant telescope. Everyone is invited to look at and through this marvelous tool-to-the-stars. Viewing will continue after sunset. It will be a full moon, so feel free to bring your own telescopes and binoculars.
Dennis and Galileo will also demonstrate how to make a comet. Although people today look forward to sighting a comet, for many centuries, comets were viewed as harbingers of bad things such as plagues, wars, and death. It wasn't until the 17th century that comets began to be properly understood.
A comet has a core that resembles a dirty snowball. It is thought to be approximately 25 percent dust and chunks of rocky material and approximately 75 percent ice. The ice is mostly frozen water, but also contains mixtures of compounds containing methane, ammonia, and subunits of molecules of carbon dioxide.
As a comet nears the sun, its ice begins to pass directly from a solid to a gas form--this is called sublimation. The gas carries some of the dust particles with it and spreads out around the core. Sunlight causes these atoms to glow as a patch of light up to 62,000 miles in diameter. Solar winds sweep these cometary gases away from the sun which produces a straight tail of up to 93 million miles long.
Approximately 650 comets have been discovered and scientifically recorded, although an average of five new comets are discovered each year. Most of these are faint and can only be observed with a telescope. But anybody who went outside between March and May of this year had a good chance to see the Comet Hale-Bopp. So join Dennis and Galileo and enjoy and evening of science investigation. Come out to Explorit for this special evening of community appreciation. This event is free to the public. Look in this column for more information in the next couple of weeks, or call Explorit at 756-0191.
Explorit Science Center is located at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. Public hours
are Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday
through Friday from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. General admission is $3; members, teachers, and children under 4 are free. For more information, call Explorit at 756-0191.
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Now is still the time and Explorit is still the place for rice! For Explorit's last exhibition, "Rice: From the Roots Up," rice was planted in two rice "paddies." Since April, everyone has been patiently awaiting the results. Well, they're here. The rice plants are filled with young rice grains. Although harvest will have to wait a while longer, you can come and see how the rice has grown.
And you can also check out Explorit's composting and recycling exhibition. There are three compost piles at three different stages. One is the brand new compost, one is approximately halfway along, and one is the final product -- soil.
There are three work bench stations under the patio in the back. Signs and activities will let you explore the science of recycling. After all, Davis is one of the leading cities in the nation when it comes to recycling!
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If you hurry, you may be able to reserve the last space in Explorit's Summer Classes. There is room for one more student in the Creature Features class for children entering grades 3-5. The week long class begins on Monday, August 4, and pre-registration is required.