Sitting in a dark planetarium, kids of all ages had stars in their eyes on Friday as they learned about black holes and Earth science from working NASA scientists.
The scientists on Friday answered students’ questions and showed a documentary about black holes at the Earth and Space Science Lab.
The Earth and Space Science Lab on Madison Street in Frederick is the school district’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics center, with many exhibits, including marine creatures and fossils.
The lab also has a planetarium that can project movies and documentaries 360 degrees. Elementary students in Frederick County Public Schools go to the lab for field trips and other activities.
Attendees of Friday’s event first watched a 25-minute documentary in the planetarium about black holes.
Then, Yasmina Martos, an earth and planetary scientist, and Michael Taylor, an earth and outreach scientist, answered attendees’ questions about black holes and other space phenomena. Martos and Taylor work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Prince George’s County.
Adam Farbman, a co-director of the Earth and Space Science Lab, said in an interview that the lab is very busy during the school year, but loves to take advantage of the summertime to hold special events.
“Everybody was definitely all in,” he said of the event. “Anytime NASA calls and says, ‘You want to do something?,’ the only answer is, ‘Absolutely.’”
Erin Roberts, a public affairs officer for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said that while students are out of school, it’s good to meet students and parents where they are, including at community outreach events.
She said the event was to inspire the next generation of scientists, and to inform the community of a new mission called the Roman Space Telescope that searches for dark energy and black matter.
“Everyone wants to know about dark energy and black matter and black holes,” Roberts said. “It’s definitely one of the things that we want to make sure we’re talking about.”
William Kelder, 7, said he likes space and how comets move.
He said he learned on Friday that “a black hole was a dangerous thing.”
William asked the scientists what would happen if a meteor hit the sun.
Taylor said a meteor would most likely burn up before it hit the sun.
William said in an interview that asking a question was good because “I get to learn a lot about space.”
Melissa Kelder, William’s mom, said it was her first time at the Earth and Space Science Lab.
“I think it’s really important to have free events like this that get kids engaged in science,” Melissa Kelder said.
The event also featured different stations around the lab, including arts and crafts activities, and trying on space and flight suits.
Martos said she works on different missions, such as NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter, and on exhibitions, such as traveling to polar regions.
“It’s really nice to see the motivation of the younger ones, and the families are also very engaged,” she said of the event. “That’s beautiful to see. I really like that.”
Luna Choi, 9, said she liked the planetarium for the black hole documentary screening “because I liked the ceiling that was like a dome.”
She said it was cool to ask a scientist her question about the outcome of a black hole swallowing another black hole.
The answer: It would become a “supermassive” black hole.
Her mom, Mingi Choi, said it was great that a national organization like NASA would come to Frederick “to keep feeding their curiosity.”
“They’re interested in science and physics and all of that, and this is a really great opportunity for them to get exposure outside of doing home experiments,” she said.
Taylor was helping students use a Science and Technology Education for Light/Land Assessment (STELLA), which helps measure different attributes like solar radiation, light reflectance and air temperature.
He said the instrument is make-it-yourself, and there are several different versions of STELLA that measure different things.
“We’re trying to step it up and make many different entry points so that anyone anywhere on Earth can start building their own instrument and start collecting their own data,” Taylor said.
More information about STELLA is available at science.gsfc.nasa.gov/stella.
Roberts said she hopes students get inspired by Friday’s event.
“Seeing the people that are speaking to them, saying, ‘I see myself in that person. I could see myself working at NASA,’” she said. “That is really our goal here.”