‘To Infinity And Beyond’ Is Out There

By Larissa Lytwyn

Six-year-old Scott Alexander loves the universe.

“I like the different planets,” he said, noting Mars as his favorite because of its bold red color.

Scott is far from alone — over two dozen equally enthusiastic youngsters recently met with educator and artist Leslie Troy for the first in this summer’s Super Science Workshops series, Infinity and Beyond, at the C.H. Booth Library.

The workshops are organized twice a week, on Thursdays, from 1 to 2:30 pm, for first and second graders and Saturdays, from 10 am to noon, for third and fourth graders.

While registration is nearly full for the Thursday workshops, “Dinosaurs Roar!” on July 22 and “A World of Science” on July 29, children’s librarian director Alana Meloni said there is still plenty of room for “Connecting Science and Literature” on July 24 and “Connecting Science and Math” on July 31.

At the beginning of Infinity and Beyond, Ms Troy introduced students to the concept of space by starting with the basics — what you see when you look outside.

After identifying the sky, clouds, sun, and birds, Ms Troy asked the students to determine which objects were earth-bound and which belonged to outer space.

The children quickly identified native creatures, such as birds, from the sun, moon, stars, and planets.

“Very good!” exclaimed Ms Troy as the group moved quickly through the introductory material.

The children gathered close as Ms Troy went on to read The Planets by children’s science author Gail Gibbons.

Seven-year-old Katie Fallon said she liked this reading part best.

“I liked learning about the different planets,” she said. “Being read to is fun.” She added that her parents often read to her before bedtime.

Grace Flight of Bethel brought her granddaughters Katie and Lizzie to the event.

“With our Bethel library in repair, we have been utilizing the C.H. Booth Library a lot,” Ms Flight said. “It’s a wonderful library! They have a lot of great programs for children.”

 While focusing on introductory astronomy, some of the facts Ms Troy shared taught even adults like Ms Flight something new.

“I never knew Uranus had rings around it like Saturn does,” she said.

While not as prominent, several thin, vertical rings loop around the eighth planet from the sun.

To help the group learn the location of the planets in relation to the sun, from Mercury, the closest, past Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, to Pluto, Ms Troy shared an easy-to-remember anagram: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

The children then had the opportunity to make their own solar system, positioning paper cutouts of the planets correctly using glitter and plenty of glue.

Ms Troy’s sons, Kyle and Matt, both second graders, also took part in the workshop.

“It’s fun being with Mom,” said Kyle.

Matt said his favorite planet was Uranus because of its rings, which are even more interesting, in his opinion, than Saturn’s.

“He loves his planets!” Ms Troy said fondly.

After completing the solar system project, the children had just enough time to learn about real space food astronauts eat before the end of the workshop approached.

A $6 materials fee is required upon preregistration, which can be done at the children’s library desk.

For more information on the third and fourth grade workshops, contact Ms Meloni at the C.H. Booth Library at 426-4533.