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See You in September

By Cosmic Strings In Cosmic Strings

Ah…September.  Fall is arriving…the weather is cooling off…everyone is excited to be getting back into the school year routine…

Okay, I get it.  Only on television is September actually cool…here in Virginia it’s still plenty humid and sticky.  And back to school is only a good thing if you are no longer in school.  But hey!  Don’t sit around moping!  We’ve got a fun Back-to-School event for the whole family this weekend – a Stargazing and Laser Light Night event!

Come on out to the Virginia Living Museum this Saturday, September 14, starting at 6pm.  Our cafe will be offering some great back-to-school specials, including their awesome popcorn and candy bar!  We’ll have our lawn games out in the Conservation Garden (Cornhole!  Giant Jenga!  More!) and of course, as soon as the Sun goes down, we will be stargazing (weather permitting we should begin by 8pm)!  What’s going on in the sky you may ask?  Well…

Jupiter and Saturn are the big story.  Both are shining brightly in the southern sky after sunset.  They are pretty low, since at this time of the year planets don’t get very high in the sky thanks to the tilt of our own planet as we make our way around the Sun.  But we should have a decent shot of catching them both, especially up on the observatory deck.  The Moon is Full the night before, meaning that the now Waning Gibbous Moon will rise about an hour after sunset and provide a bright target as the night wears on – plan on staying around pretty late if you want to see the Moon through one of our telescopes.

Naturally, if the skies are clear, we will also be looking at various more exotic things…binary stars…nebulae…star clusters…galaxies…and anything else we can train our telescopes on.  It’s always fun to tour your way through the evening sky with our astronomers.  And even if the weather isn’t so cooperative – we’ve got you covered in the planetarium.  Just pick up your tickets for our 7:30pm Virginia Skies show and we will give you the run down on what will be visible in the sky that evening.

Want something more exciting and fun for the kiddos?  Come to our 6:30pm planetarium show – Solar System Odyssey.  Join intrepid astronaut Jack Larson as he blasts off into space to find a new home for humanity!  Of course, every space mission has its challenges…wait until you see what Jack has to face!  This fulldome cartoon is fun for the entire family.

Of course, later in the evening we rock out in the planetarium with our awesome laser shows.  This month, we are featuring the music of the 1980s in Laser Retro, the psychedelic sounds of the Doors at 10pm, and as always, Pink Floyd at 11:30pm.  Don’t miss out on the fun!  Shows in the planetarium are $6 per person, or you can see any 2 shows on the same night for $10.  Members are always half-price for our evening events!

So come on out and enjoy some fun with the family.  I think you’ll agree that September can be pretty fun after all.  See you there!

Kelly