Mars Madness focuses on The Solar System

Where does the Solar System end, and how do we know what’s out there? You’ll find out at the July Free Mars Madness event on Wednesday, July 27 at The Children’s Museum in West Hartford from 3:00 to 6:00pm. Watch an exclusive showing of the Adler Planetarium's recent full-dome production IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System in the Travelers Science Dome Planetarium. IBEX is the acronym for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, a small satellite that orbits our Earth while looking out into the farthest reaches of our solar system. Visitors will also see demonstrations of crazy magnets and glowing gasses, giving an idea of how these objects would react and interact in space.

Monthly Mars Madness events are free at The Children’s Museum from 3:00-6:00 pm on the fourth Wednesday of every month and are best for children ages 8 and up. Each month, different space-related activities and planetarium programs will be offered to complement the Mars exhibit. The Mars Madness Monthly Wednesdays are funded through the NASA grant. Upcoming Mars Madness Wednesdays include August 24 and September 28.

“Every month we find more people coming to introduce their children to space exploration and the planet Mars through this event,” said Don Peterson, The Children’s Museum Interim Director. “NASA has provided a terrific opportunity to engage children in learning more about the ‘Red Planet’ and what life there might be like.”

Visitors can follow an interactive timeline of Mars exploration, practice driving a rover around on the Red Planet with a motion capture simulator, plant seeds and compare how they grow in Earth soil vs. simulated Mars soil and more as part of the exhibit Blue Planet, Red Planet: Exploring Planetary Science. The exhibit and associated programs are made possible by a three-year, NASA Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums grant.

The Blue Planet, Red Planet exhibit is the first element of a three year teaching and science learning program with a variety of educational features that explores planetary science for students in grades four through eight, as well as for their teachers and families.

This fall, in collaboration with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, the Blue Planet, Red Planet educational curriculum will be rolled out to local schools. As part of the grant, The Travelers Science Dome Planetarium is in the process of producing its first full dome planetarium production, From the Blue Planet to the Red Planet. The planetarium has purchased state-of-the-art computer equipment and software to produce its own shows and customize shows specifically to fit the needs of our audiences. The planetarium will soon join the ranks of a small number of planetariums capable of producing their own content.  From the Blue Planet to the Red Planet is expected to debut in early 2012.

The Children’s Museum offers over 100 live animals, hands-on science exhibits, out-of-this-world digital planetarium shows, and programs for younger children and families. With more than 200,000 visitors annually, it is one of Connecticut’s top museum attractions. The Children’s Museum is located at 950 Trout Brook Drive in West Hartford and at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton. More information is available at www.TheChildrensMuseumCT.org.