Wacky Wednesday # 17 – Sky Awareness Week /Astronomy Week

Growing up on the eastern side of Vermont there was often a school field trip in the spring  to the Fairbanks Museum.  The natural history aspect of the museum did not inspire me much.  In fact to this day my husband has a hard time getting me into natural history museums.  What I did enjoy were the planetarium shows.  The presentations were live and always reflected exactly what was happening in the sky at the time.  I really did not understand how good the planetarium shows were until I went to a big city planetarium and found that the presentation was simply a generic prerecorded program.

Below is some info the Fairbanks Lyman Spitzer Jr, Planetarium from the website:

The Fairbanks Planetarium opened in 1961 to stimulate interest in astronomy. The pursuit of this mission continues today through the Museum’s ongoing astronomy programs, including Eye on the Night Sky radio broadcasts on Vermont Public Radio, Star Quest astronomy outreach programs, and our annual Perseid Star Party in August. The planetarium welcomes about 15,000 visitors annually through programs for schools and the public.

The projector is the original Spitz model A-2 installed in 1961, with bench seating for 45 people under a 24-foot domed ceiling enhanced by sound and image systems. Immediately adjacent to the Planetarium is the Exhibit Hall, featuring displays on many aspects of astronomy and space travel, including the exploration of the Solar System, and a diorama of the Moon’s surface and the Apollo Lunar Lander from 1969.

I have been to the planetarium presentation within the past three years and can report the quality continues.  The presenters have a real knack for engaging both children and adults.  So if you find yourself in St. Johnsbury, VT on a Saturday or Sunday at 1:30 pm  I recommend you take in the show.

Wacky Wednesday #16 – National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and has been since 1996.  You can find an incredible amount of information by clicking the link above. One of the things I found interesting was that there is a National Poetry Map that will lead you to a page for each state telling you about the poets of the state, poems about the state, and which poets are buried in the state.  Robert Frost is buried in my home state of Vermont, in the Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, VT.  I am not sure if I have been there or not, although there are other sites related to Frost even closer to where I live that I have seen.

Last year I posted about my visit to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA where the poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau keep company with other famous literary residents along …  So with 12 more days remaining in April you still have time to observe National Poetry Month.  You can check any of the links above, pull a favorite volume off a shelf, or if you are so inclined put pen to paper (or given that it is the 21st century fingers to keyboard — although that doesn’t strike me as too poetic.)

Word for 12/9 – Inhabit

This building is the town hall for the rural community I inhabit.  It contains the town clerk’s office, and a “hall” where meetings & voting takes place.  It has a parking area that doubles as a ride share lot for commuters.  The white building with green shutters is typical of many mid-size town halls here in Vermont.