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SATURDAY February 28, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 22, 2004 Mars again at front and center at ScienceWorks Exhibit to coincide with second rover's landing on red planet By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings After a successful summer viewing of Mars when it passed at its closest point to Earth in hundreds of years, it seemed only natural for the ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum to host a second Mars weekend while the Mars exploration rover "Spirit" roams the red planet. This Friday through Sunday, the museum will host a Mars Weekend to coincide with the landing on Saturday evening of the second Mars rover. Activities kick off in the evening with a special lecture by local doctor Andy Kuzmitz. "We will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday evening with Dr. Kuzmitz speaking on Mars and why we are exploring Mars," Museum Executive Director Christy Wallace-Hostetler explained. "The evening, and the whole weekend, is geared toward kids. There is a lot of interest in Mars right now and this is a real opportunity for people to learn what we know about Mars and what we hope to learn from these two missions." Friday evening is an exception to normal hours, and the admission is a suggested donation of $5. Saturday and Sunday, the museum will be open during its regular hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when there will be a planetarium show. Elib Crist-Dwyer, Program Coordinator at ScienceWorks, explained what the program will entail. "The Planetarium Show will talk about the relationship between the Earth, the Sun and Mars," he said. "And we will talk about how this was the right time to send high-tech equipment to Mars to explore the planet." The first Mars rover, "Spirit," landed on Mars Jan. 3 and has sent back stunning pictures of the red planet. The second Mars rover, "Opportunity," is scheduled to land sometime Saturday evening. Wallace-Hostetler said this is an exciting time to talk to young people about Mars. "Kids who are in the first grade and kindergarten are going to be the scientists of the future who are going to study what is being sent back today from Mars," she noted. "We feel that as a center for learning, we had the job of letting people know we are here as people are now looking to us for leadership and to give them this information." Among the other events taking place this weekend is the opportunity for young people in the area to take part in a new NASA project. Children are being asked by NASA to send them rocks from the area they live in. Those rocks will be studied by NASA with similar tools being used on the Mars rover. Rocks cleaned and prepared to be sent to NASA at ScienceWorks this weekend will be posted on the Internet and a report will be made on what type of rock it is. NASA will also send participants an official certificate and Mars sticker for their contributions. Rocks brought in to the museum must be a minimum of two inches and no more than six inches and must be cleaned. Cleaning stations will be set up at ScienceWorks to make sure the rocks are suitable to be sent to NASA. Each child is responsible for sending his or her own rock to NASA. Admission for Saturday's and Sunday's events are $7.50 for adults and $5 for children 2-12. Children under two and ScienceWorks members are admitted free. For more information, call 482-6767. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams