People walking and biking along the Clear Creek Trail July 22 wondered what the large exhibit in the Golden Library parking lot was.
So, they stopped to look, and ended up learning all sorts of things about the sun, gravity, light, Mars and other similar topics.
On July 22, the library hosted the Mobile Earth & Science Observatory as part of its summer reading challenge. In total, MESO was scheduled to visit five Jefferson County Public Library locations across three days, including the Evergreen and Columbine libraries on July 24.
MESO hosted several exhibits and science experiments, such as how different materials appear in an infrared camera and how the vacuum of space would impact a marshmallow.
Danielle Tobin, a JCPL patron experiences associate, explained how the library district partnered with the nonprofit because it’s an all-ages program and has bilingual resources, among other features.
This year’s summer reading challenge theme is “Where Adventure Begins!”
Tobin said “adventure” included many things, such as learning about our solar system.
MESO Executive Director Dimitri Klebe said the July 22 event at the Golden Library went well. Hundreds of library patrons and other passersby stopped to check out the exhibits and experiments MESO set up in the parking lot. He said the location along the creek was beautiful and brought in a lot of foot traffic, and the clear weather was perfect to use the telescopes.
MESO, which is based in Colorado Springs, visits libraries and schools throughout the year to offer a deeper learning experience on earth- and space-based science topics, Klebe described. The gravity well and the Mars lab’s marshmallows-in-a-vacuum experiments are always popular.
He said the mobile observatory is equipped for night-time events as well. But, for the daytime event, MESO had telescopes set up to view sunspots and prominences on the sun’s surface.
Klebe and colleague Jessica Olsen said people don’t always realize they can use telescopes to look at the sun, so long as they have the proper equipment.
Olsen described how the two telescopes MESO had set up were better for viewing different aspects of the sun, with one better for sunspots and the other better for seeing details on the sun’s surface.
Olsen said that solar studies is an interesting field because there are many things scientists are still learning about the sun. For instance, the sun has an 11-year cycle of activity. It’s currently in the maximum stage when there’s generally the most activity, she explained.
Overall, Klebe and Olsen hoped that Goldenites and others who stopped by the July 22 event got a taste of the scientific principles that govern the universe.
Golden’s Tana Lawler and her 10-year-old, Forrest, said they were excited to check out MESO at the library after hearing about it through a local online newsletter.
The Lawlers said they’d never seen the sun through a telescope before, as they’d never had access to the proper equipment. So, it made for a cool experience, they described.
“I’m glad we stopped by,” Lawler said. “It’s a great educational experience for kids and even adults.”
Arvada’s Lisa Portilla and her three children also stopped by after hearing about it through the Standley Lake Library. Because MESO wasn’t visiting their location, they decided it was worthwhile to make the trek to Golden. And the four were glad they did, with the three youngsters saying they had a good time.
Portilla added: “It’s a wonderful resource for the community.”
Click through additional photos from the July 22 event:
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