Locals will have the chance to crawl through space and time as part of a new addition to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Starry Night on Friday.
The 40-foot Cosmic Tunnel is one of the activities at the annual event held from 6 to 10 p.m. Other activities at the event include lifting a meteorite, 3-D AstroWall presentations and portable planetarium shows every 30 minutes.
Starry Night is sponsored by several organizations, including the UF Department of Astronomy, the Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc., Santa Fe College, and NASA, Howard Cohen, a UF emeritus associate professor in the Department of Astronomy wrote in email.
Cohen, who will be helping out with the telescopes out on the museum lawn, said the event encourages awareness of the importance of science.
UF professor Fred Hamann is scheduled to give a presentation titled “Quasars and Black Holes: A Journey Toward the Gravitational Abyss” in one of the museum’s classrooms at 7 p.m.
Guests may enjoy food from High Springs Orchard & Bakery on the patio.
The event is for all ages and offers an exhibition of space-inspired art, stargazing and the PBS show “Star Gazers.”
“It’s a great way to consider things beyond our planet and to capture people’s imaginations,” said Vicki Sarajedini, an associate professor in the Department of Astronomy.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 11/13/2014]