Unexpected Bright Spots in the Universe

Our weekly field trip was to the Adler Planetarium. Because my phone was very, very low on batteries, I only got to take two photos. Both were of us eating in the cafeteria. Exciting, huh? Luckily that wasn't the high point of our day.

The Planetarium has always been an odd museum. It has always seemed to be a little bit disorganized, out of date, small, and staffed by the biggest geeks you can imagine. Of course the last time I went there was probably before I was in High School, so there was a lot of time to improve.

Well, it's still a bit disorganized, although they have a great staff who will direct you anywhere you might want to go. As far as out of date, that's been taken care of. Once you can find your way around they have some pretty good displays on telescopes through history, mapping the galaxy, the early space program, and they now have three different theaters (one 3D) in which you can watch incredible sky shows. Even the non-3D theaters look 3D. I had to close my eyes on more than one occasion because I felt like I was falling through a hole in the sky.

I can happily say that the museum is still staffed by huge geeks. This is not a disadvantage in any way. One of the great things that they have added to the museum is a visualization lab where, several times a day, you can talk to actual astronomers and artists who create ways for us common folk to visualize the universe. We spent an hour there. The astronomer sat the kids down to interact with  a video array of views from one of the Mars Rovers. That is when the questions began.

George: "Wow. So, which Rover is this?"
Astronomer: "Spirit, I believe."
Caleb: "There are a lot of rocks here. It looks like erosion. Is that from wind or water?"
Astronomer: "It is erosion. From here it looks like it was caused by water mostly. But what's really interesting is that those are volcanic rocks."
Caleb: "Volcanic? How long ago was Mars volcanically active?"
Astronomer: "Probably about a hundred million years ago."
Caleb: "So is the water more recent?"

Hannah: "Do you do this illustration? Is it all by computers or do you draw it?"
Astronomer: "It's all done on computer. If you take these 3D glasses, you can see how cosmic rays and gamma rays collide with the atmosphere and shatter..."
Hannah: "So the rays split? Is that dangerous?"
Astronomer: "The atmosphere of the earth protects us, but some of the rays can get through."
Hannah: "What happens when they do? Can it cause sicknesses?"
Astronomer: "Well, some of the radiation, if you are exposed in large amounts, can cause a bad disease that starts with a 'c.' "
Hannah: "Yes, cancer. But are we in danger right now?"
Astronomer: "Only a small amount of gamma rays get through the atmosphere. Chances are, you won't be hit by any."
Hannah: "But if I am, will I get cancer and die?"
Astronomer: "No. Maybe one of your cells might die. That's one of billions that are in your body. I don't think you're in danger."
Hannah: "Okay. But if I get hit a lot..."
Me: "You won't."

Astronomer: "This is a map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Right at the center you can see a super massive black hole..."
Caleb: "Oh yeah. You know, I've always wanted to study those."
Astronomer: "Always...? Well, super massive black holes shoot out gamma rays. That's what I study. In my model you can see that some cosmic rays shatter, but gamma rays don't. I study the charged particles that make it through the atmosphere."
Caleb: "So you just study parts of the atoms? The charged parts? Do they get charged before they hit the atmosphere? Is that why they break up? What do they hit? Can we make electricity with the charges?"

Astronomer: "We are constantly being bombarded with particles from space. Right now there are particles shooting through your body...."
Hannah: "Are you talking about neutrinos?"
Caleb: "I was just going to say that."
Astronomer: "You know about neutrinos too!??"

Yes, my kids were able to out-geek the geeks. The other astronomer in the lab took me aside and said. "I don't think we've had this much fun in months. Not everyone feels comfortable asking questions."

I'm not going to take credit for my kids being smart. I think that's just something that they were born with. I will give myself a pat on the back, however, because they know it's okay to ask questions, and they aren't afraid to ask. Sometimes, when we are so busy shushing and quieting the kids and getting annoyed at the questions that they ask, we forget that this is how they learn. They ask because they REALLY WANT TO KNOW. They don't ask to annoy you, or to try to show you up, or to stump you. They are genuinely curious and so they ask. I hope that they never stop asking. I hope that they will always be surrounded by patient people (like Mr. Astronomer) who take the time to answer their questions. I hope that questions will always lead to more questions. I hope that they are never scared or worried about asking.

I think that we will go back to the Planetarium, just to visit with smart people who like answering questions. It was also the most fun I've had in months.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, we stopped by the Atwood Sphere. It was built in 1913 and it's the oldest "planetarium" in the western hemisphere. We got to go inside and learn about the constellations as they would appear over the city if we could see them. I can't explain it adequately, but if you ever have the opportunity, go and see it. I'm not sure if this will work, but here's a link I found with pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/adlerplanetarium/3351681947/

 I was, once again surprised at what my kids knew, and the questions that they weren't afraid to ask. Hannah wanted to know if the Pleiades and the Hyades had the same origin (etymologically or astronomically) and Caleb was curious about the zodiac constellations and was interested that they were also known as ecliptic constellations...so was I as a matter of fact. So, we all learned a lot. We all asked a lot of questions. It was a good time.

And here is one final picture of the cafeteria with a great view of the skyline (in spite of the rain.) Yet another improvement they made to this great, quiet, sciencey museum. The pizza wasn't bad either, which is a good thing, because it's featured here, in one of the only pictures I managed to take.