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Join us as we kick off our winter/ spring 2006 "spotlight on
sports" with the arrival of a major new exhibit and great family
activities.
| Sneak Preview of FOOTBALL: THE EXHIBIT Available this
Weekend! |
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FOOTBALL: THE EXHIBIT, a nationally touring
interactive exhibit created by the Museum of Discovery in
Little Rock, Arkansas, rushes into Discovery Museum galleries
with a look at the physics behind this uniquely American game.
Play book statistics, passing, kicking, scrimmage line action,
cheerleading and marching bands all provide an entertaining
backdrop for a science lesson your whole family will
love.
During your Museum visit, be sure to try your
hands (and feet) at passing and kicking as you learn
why spiral motion stabilizes the flight of the football.
Explore first-hand how peripheral vision, angular momentum
and center of gravity are key components of blocking,
tackling and sacking the quarterback. And don’t miss the
opportunity to race the clock on the sprint track or to
compare your grip strength to the pros. This exhibit
also explores how a football player prepares for the game —
right down to food, protective gear and the prevention of
common injuries.
Football: The Exhibit officially
opens on Monday, January 16th, but is available for a sneak
preview this weekend, January 14th & 15th. FOOTBALL
will remain on display through May 28th, 2006.
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| Pre-Super Bowl Celebration on Saturday, February 4th
includes Video Football, Snacks and Hands-on Fun for All
Ages |
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Begin your Super Bowl XL celebration one day early with
a visit to The Discovery Museum on Saturday, February
4th. In addition to touring the Museum's latest
interactive exhibit on the science of football, you
will also be able to put your virtual football skills to the
test in the EB GAMES Discovery Game Room. Multiple Xboxes
and Madden Football will be featured from 10am - 5 pm for
the electronically inclined. Snacks and gridiron
inspired arts and crafts will be available from 11am
to 4pm for even the youngest fans to enjoy. Wear your favorite
(football) team
jersey and save $1.00 on the price
of general admission (Offer valid Feb 4, only)
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| Breathtaking Hubble Images Featured in new Public
Planetarium Show |
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Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope
has provided incredible images to astronomers in
unprecedented detail, allowing them to make an astonishing
array of new discoveries - from violent storms on nearby Mars
to black holes and galaxies at the limits of the observable
universe. Hubble Vision 2 takes the best and
most exciting deep space images and weaves them into an
engaging story of cosmic exploration, bringing the wonders of
the universe to Earth. Major themes in current astronomy and
cosmology are presented in this all-new planetarium
show, with new views of the planets; peeks into starbirth
nurseries; visions of stardeath in its many forms;
explorations of star clusters and galaxies; and views of the
universe when the earliest galaxies were first coming into
being. Of course, no Hubble tour would be complete without
those breathtaking, deep-field views of the most distant
galaxies ever seen. Hubble Vision 2 is presented daily
in the Museum's duPont Planetarium.
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| Museum Schedule Extended for the M.L.K.
Holiday |
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The Discovery Museum will be open from 10 am to 5 pm
Monday, January 16th for the Martin Luther King holiday.
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NASA STARDUST Mission Milestone
Approaches |
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If all goes according to plan, NASA's Stardust mission
return capsule will land Sunday, Jan. 15, at approximately
5:12 a.m. Eastern time on the Utah Test and Training Range.
Stardust is completing a 2.88 billion mile round- trip odyssey
to capture and return cometary and interstellar dust particles
to Earth.
Stardust launched on Feb. 7, 1999, and
encountered comet Wild 2 on Jan. 2, 2004. It flew less than
241 kilometers (150 miles) from the comet's nucleus to capture
tiny grains of dust. During the voyage, the spacecraft
captured bits of interstellar dust streaming into the solar
system from other parts of the galaxy. Scientists believe
these precious samples will help provide answers to
fundamental questions about comets and the origins of the
solar system.
Discovery Museum astronomy staff are
particularly excited about an opportunity for the public to
become involved in an Internet-based search for interstellar
dust grains collected by STARDUST via an online, virtual
microscope. Called Stardust@Home, this project will involve
volunteers from the public in the task of scanning 1.5 million
pictures for tracks left by an estimated 45 particles of
speeding interstellar dust captured by the spacecraft.
Although odds are against finding one of the few particles
collected, those whose discoveries are confirmed by NASA
scientists will get to name their dust grains.
Once the
grains are identified and analyzed, NASA scientists hope the
information will tell about the internal processes of distant
stars such as supernovas, flaring red giants or neutron stars
that produce interstellar dust and also generate the heavy
elements like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen necessary for life.
The Web-based virtual microscope will be made
available to the public in mid-March. Updates on the STARDUST
mission are available online (see link below) or by making a
visit the Discovery Museum's duPont Planetarium and speaking
with one of our knowledgeable lecturers. More about NASA's STARDUST
mission... |
SPECIAL THANKS to these generous program sponsors
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