Carnegie Science Center Blasts into Outer Space with Space Out! Weekend

PITTSBURGH.— From telescopes and star clocks, to lunar displays and star-studded planetarium shows, Carnegie Science Center will blast off into deep space from Friday, March 27–Sunday, March 29, for a celebration of everything astronomical.

Space Out! weekend kicks off on Friday with special programming for students, and the cosmic party continues on Saturday and Sunday with a series of presentations, solar observing, star-gazing, numerous displays and activities, make-and-takes, and a myriad of planetarium shows held in the high-definition Buhl Digital Dome planetarium.

Commemorating the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of the use of the telescope to explore the night sky, the weekend-long event will feature the premier of an all-new, full-dome planetarium show, Two Small Pieces of Glass. This program takes visitors back in time and explores how the telescope has helped mankind understand its place in the universe and how the largest observatories in the world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of space.

On Saturday visitors will enjoy three presentations held in the Buhl Digital Dome. At 1 pm, Dr. Andrew Zentner of the University of Pittsburgh will describe how images enabled by gravitational lensing allow people to learn about the universe. At 2 pm, actor Michael Francis will follow with an interactive presentation that brings Galileo to life as he discusses his telescope discoveries, work, and life. Following Francis, at 3 pm Dr. Jeff Newman of the University of Pittsburgh’s Astronomy and Physics Department will conclude the series as he takes the audience on a journey of the discovery of the telescope.

From noon–3 pm on Saturday and Sunday visitors have the opportunity to learn about safe solar observing, and on Friday and Saturday night from 8:30–10 pm visitors can glimpse Mars and Saturn’s rings from the Science Center’s Buhl Observatory (weather permitting).

Also available during Space Out! weekend will be a plethora of displays and activities for visitors of all ages, including Google™ Sky demonstrations, cosmic face painting, make-and-take sundials, lunar displays, chances to learn about scopes and digital cameras, and more.

Visitors will have the chance to enter a raffle to win a Celestron® AstroMaster 70AZ telescope or a subscription to “Astronomy Magazine.” Prizes and support for the event are provided by “Astronomy Magazine” and Meade® Instruments Corp.

For more information, please contact Mike Marcus, Carnegie Science Center Assistant Director of Marketing & Community Affairs at MarcusM@CarnegieScienceCenter.org or call at 412.237.1657.