The Auburn Public Library is excited to be hosting Discover NASA: From Our Town to Outer Space, a national traveling exhibition from mid-April through early July. It is an inside look at NASA, America’s space agency and covers six key NASA areas: Human Exploration, Earth Science, Mars Exploration, Solar System and Beyond, Aeronautics, and Technology. We are one of seven libraries in the country to be chosen.
The exhibit includes stunning imagery, hands-on activities, and multimedia experiences such as a near real-time kiosk called Eyes on Exoplanets; an immersive experience of astronauts living onboard the International Space Station; a touch table where users can build their own virtual solar systems; two large, touchable meteorite samples; a wind tunnel that’s interactive; and many more engaging activities. Getting young people interested in science and technology can be a challenge, but Discover NASA strives to make it fun.
APL will also offer a related series of public events and programs to bring STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities to children, teens and adults. We are planning to host Mad Science, an astronomy expert, a program on the history of Andover’s Telstar Communications satellite, Northern Stars Planetarium and Portable Educational Services, and many more programs. We will be reaching out to nearby libraries and schools with special invitations to visit APL. The exhibition is free and open to the public during library hours.
Discover NASA: From Our Town to Outer Space was developed by Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL). It is part of NCIL’s STAR Library Education Network (STAR_Net).
(The material contained above is based upon work supported by NASA under award No. NNX15AB02G, entitled “From our Town to Outer Space: Bringing NASA Science and Engineering to Underserved Communities through a National Public Library Exhibition Program”, or, FOTOS. Any opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the grantee or their partners, and not necessarily that of the funding agency.)
Mamie Anthoine Ney, Director, Auburn Public Library
