MOUHTAII¢ TI*UI/' " December 2003 - 7
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addition to offering tours throughout
winter, the Science Center has made it
for NRAO to extend some of its
programming through the winter
Here's the schedule:
,SCIENCE FIU, FEar Movies with a
theme are shown in the Auditorium
p.m. on the first Friday night of each
December's film, ET, will be shown
Friday, Dec. 5. Open to the public flee
• HIGH TECH WEDIqESD,Id A behind-
tour of areas of the Observatory
off-limits to visitors. Offered on the
Wednesday of each month at 3:30.
is limited to 15 participants. Time
hour. Cost is $3 per per-
and reservations are suggested.
STAdl LAB Guests gather under a plane-
balloon for a fascinating "look" at the
I above. Every Thursday at 2 p.m. Time
one hour. Space is limited to
i participants per program. Cost is $3 per
and reservations are suggested.
Elr/dll PARTY NRAO staff will orient
to the star-filled sky. Mwing the
will follow on the Star Party Patio
the Science Center. Bring your own
optical telescopes. Star Par-
begin 30 minutes before dark. Winter
are Dec. 13, Jan. 17, Feb. 21, and
20. Open to the public free of
Dress warmly. Cloudy skies will
the event.
are subject to change. To confirm
or make reservations, call (304) 456-
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Leam
about NRAO at
gb.nrao.edu.
Observatory is located on Rt.92/28
miles north of Madinton on the left
3 miles beyond the intersec-
with Rt. 66 as you are driving north.
NFL40. from pg. 1
Center will be open to the public from
10 a.m.-S p.m. \\;Vedncsdays through
Sundays, with guided tours offered at l 1
a.m.. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
If you're planning to take a guided
tour. it's a good idea to get there early
and take a self-guided tour through the
exhibit halt first. It will give you a good
introduction and history of radio astron-
omy. plus there are terrific hands-on ex-
hibits that kids (even those over 40) will
enjoy trying out.
There are
enough spinning
objects and
flashing lights to
make even the !
most diehard
video game fa-
natic take notice,
only these
"games" offer a
fascinating
glimpse at how
scientists are ex-
ploring the se-
crets of the uni-
verse. For ex-
ample, you can
take a pulsar for
a spin, measure
the lengths of
radio waves, or
see how radio as-
tronomers "paint
by the numbers"
to create pictures of objects in space.
The exhibit hall is still a work in
progress, and new displays are being
added all the time. The day that I visit-
ed, the museum technician was tweaking
a remarkably detailed model of the GBT,
The tour itself begins in
the auditorium with an
overview by a guide. I was
fortunate that on the day I
toured, Cara Rose con-
ducted the tour. She is ex-
Of course, overgrown adolescent that I am, the
thing in the video that most captured my imagination
was the sucstion that we are beaming old episode of
"The Andx Griffith Show" into space in case there am
aliens out there trying to determine if there is life on
earth. Strange as that is, I guess it could be worse.
They could be using "Feat Factor" or "CSI" to
demonstrate life on earth.
Rose pointed out that the Green Bank telescopes
have been used by Search
for Extraterrestrial Intelli-
gence (SETI) to search for
signs of life in outer space
(no luck so far). She noted
that anyone with a legiti-
mate proposal can apply to
use NRAO instruments for
research. Proposals are re-
viewed and it is not unheard
of for laymen to get permis-
sion to do research at the fa-
cility.
c
Following the film, we
"' PhotoIIcouNRAO boarded a diesel-powered
exhlbits at the Emionee Center are hands..on bus for a ride around the corn-
and for children and adults of ell ages. Hundreds pound to view the eight radio
04 schoolkid$ pass through the exhibit hall each telescopes at the site. If you
month. The Science Center hopes to host every want to know why the bus has
child in West Virginia before they graduate from
to be diesel-powered, you'll
high school. The new facility offers a greatly ex- .
panded program of learning and special events just have to take the tour for
for evtm/level - from scientist to passerby, yourself. And don't bring
!1 • 7: :::- -7 ........... !!! ,! .............. :--:77
There are
enough spin-
ning objects
and flashing
lights to make
even the most
diehard video
game fanatic
take notice...
your cell phone, because
you're going to be riding around in the National Radio
Quiet Zone. You'll also understand what that's all
about after the tour.
The new Science Center also has greatly expanded
NRAO's capacity to offer educational programming.
One of the goals of the education program at the Ob-
servatory is for every child in West Virginia to visit the
facility before they graduate from high school. Spe-
cial programs for college students and science teach-
ers are offered as well.
A new "bunkhouse" near completion across from
which visitors will soon be able to manip-
• ulate and use to simulate observation ses-
sions. The GBT, by the way, is the
largest moveable object on land and the
largest fully steerable telescope in the
world.
at,€ flood
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tremely knowledgeable ..... , ,;I, ,,, '::-
about radio astronomy, but
is able to explain it in non-geek-speak. She also used
some entertaining visual aids to demonstrate her brief
talk. After fielding a number of questions from our
small but inquisitive group, she then showed the 12-
minute video "Catching the Wave," which
is very well done and illustrated with im-
pressive computer animation.
the Science Center will amply provide space for
school groups to stay on the Observatory grounds,
making it even more feasible for groups from distant
parts of the state to visit.
Sue Ann Heatherly, NRAO Education Officer in
Green Bank, anticipates that with these additional re-
sources, the Center will become an educational desti-
nation for school groups from the entire Appalachiin
region, Washington, D.C. and beyond.
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or our
The Science Center has al-
ready had an enormous impact
on the tour program. Record
numbers of visitors visited
NRAO in September and Oc-
tober, and the addition of visits
by skiers during the winter ",
months could easily push the
visitation figures into the strat- -
osphere.
"We hope that skiers will
stop by on their way home,
since we will be open on Sun-
days," Rose commented.
The Science Center also of_
fers a great family-friendly al-
ternative for those seeking to
boldly go somewhere fun on
those days when poor weather
conditions or aching muscles
necessitate a break from the
slopes. Just beam yourself
over to Green Bank for an eK- '
citing voyage of discovery. Yolt
can't and shouldn't miss it.
Your acl in
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than 10,000 rt:
We deliver 6000 each
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.times, and distribute 4200
more all over Pocahontas, Rar
dolph and Greenbrier :oun-
ties. And they're available all I
I
month long. Call 304-799- °1
4973 to find out how to placl
your ad in the next issuel 3l
31
