A taste of space at East Meadow library

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Kids from East Meadow blasted off into space exploration at the East Meadow Public Library last weekend for its Moon, Mars and Beyond event.

NASA ambassadors were there to give exhibit tours, the Cradle of Aviation set up a planetarium, the Amateur Observers Society aided kids in solar observing and the Space Science Institute was there to present space rocks.

“I like the discovery and I like that it’s for all ages and people’s curiosity is piqued,” Jude Schanzer, the library’s director of public relations, said. “Are we going to have children go out and say, ‘oh that’s the Andromeda Galaxy?’ no, but what we’re going to have are children that go out and actually look at the sky and see stars and maybe identify planets.”

NASA ambassadors were there to give exhibit tours, the Cradle of Aviation set up a planetarium, the Amateur Observers Society aided kids in solar observing and the Space Science Institute was there to present space rocks.

The Space Science Institute, headquartered in Colorado, has worked with libraries for about 12 years. It had been doing exhibits in museums and science centers, but the institute’s funders, the National Science Foundation, and NASA pushed for the experience to be accessible for all people — not just those who can afford museum or science centers.

“We decided to do libraries because that’s where the people are,” said Anne Holland, a senior education associate with the Space Science Institute. “East Meadow was actually the very first venue of our very first tour.”

Holland had a display showing kids meteorites and space rocks.

“For a lot of people, it’s about careers, and the next generation of engineers, but for me, it’s really more about just having a science literate society,” Holland said. “When it comes time to vote for things that are good for the environment, or good for public health, that they are familiar with those things and can vote with their head instead of just with what they’re hearing other people saying.”

Library members and volunteers manned tables with galactic slime for kids to make. Another offered space rocks in sand for kids to dig in. After they found a rock, they weighed it, measured it, named it, and identified it on a chart.

“I love to help youngsters learn geology,” Nehru Cherukupalli, a geologist and volunteer, said. “It’s very important that they know about science because there’s so much that goes on in the world that is connected to science. It’s a good idea to learn the history, but you also should learn some science so that you can relate yourself to nature.”

This was the first time that the library has held this specific exhibit, but EMPL isn’t new to space programs. They even have a telescope that residents can check out to use at home.

“Whether we’re introducing them to science, language, math, art — it’s all important,” Schanzer said. “They need to discover what their passions are, what interests them and sometimes were a trigger.”