For the seventh year in a row, the Florida Museum of Natural History is hosting its annual Starry Night event tonight.
Laura Caicedo, the marketing and public relations assistant at the museum, said there is something for everyone at the free, astronomy-themed event.
From 6 to 10 p.m. students can speak with experts from different astronomy programs to learn about the universe, said Amanda Harvey, an educator at the center for science learning at the museum.
“It’s a really good way to sort of get an introduction to astronomy and space science,” she said.
At 7 p.m. visitors will be able listen to UF’s astronomy department’s chair, professor Rafael Guzmán, speak about the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, the largest optical telescope on Earth, she said.
Vicky Sarajedini, an associate professor in the astronomy department at UF, said her department has developed a new interactive activity it calls create-a-crater. People will drop objects in a tub filled with a sand mixture and see what kind of craters they can make.
Over the years, the portable planetarium that Sarajedini helps run has become a staple.
The show will start off displaying the night sky over Gainesville, then demonstrate sky movements.
The event will also have 3-D AstroWall presentations, which start out at the sun and then go through the galaxy, and viewers will be able to see how stars are positioned, Sarajedini said.
Harvey said everyone also gets a passport to the universe, a map of everything at the event and a place for patrons to collect stamps. A completed passport will earn visitors a prize.
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 11/15/2013 under the headline "Star light, star bright at the Florida Museum tonight"
