Hawley Students Get A Close-Up Look At The Sky

By Tanjua Damon

Hawley students could not have had a better view of space Wednesday and Thursday than if they were traveling in person in a NASA space ship heading to the unknown.

The multipurpose room at the elementary school looked like a giant Hershey kiss had landed from Mars, but in actuality the silver blob was the instrument that brought the students closer to the planets, stars, and constellations that fascinate so many people, including youngsters.

Greg Bradley from Mobile Ad Productions based in Redford, Michigan, conducted his lesson about the solar system and the stars in the Star Lab, a planetarium brought to the school to expose students and allow them to see stars and the solar system up close.

“A planetarium is a place you go inside where you see the stars exactly as you would see them on a clear night,” Mr Bradley told the students before they entered the Star Lab. “You can also see the planets.”

“It’s like a Hershey Kiss. Pretend it’s our own space ship,” he said. “We’ll take a journey of our solar system.”

Once inside the Star Lab it was almost like being in the black hole, but soon the pictures brought the solar system into view. The students learned that the sun is a star and that it measures 864,000 miles across. Mr Bradley also told the students the sun constantly produces heat and at the core of the sun scientists believe the temperature reaches 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.

Mr Bradley explained that the earth had one moon, while Jupiter has 16 and Saturn has 22. He also said there are 200 billion stars in the sky.

“We give them a perspective of how vast out solar system is,” Mr Bradley said. “They see the constellations and how they can find them themselves, planets, the sun [size and heat] and that the Milky Way is one galaxy among several.”

There were several “wows” and “oohs” and “ahs” during Mr Bradley’s presentation from the Hawley students. The Star Lab is one of several presentations brought to the school for the Cultural Arts Program.