Volunteers from the Planetary Science Institute spent their weekend engaging people of all ages in planetary science at the Tucson Festival of Books, which took place March 15-16 at the University of Arizona mall.
An estimated 1,200 visitors over two days visited PSI’s display within Science City, a subsection of the festival tailored to children. PSI volunteers shared meteorites to talk about Solar System exploration. They also set up activities from NASA’s PUNCH Mission to prompt discussion about the Sun, including an activity called “Birthdays on the Chaco Horizon,” which featured an image from the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, 3-D prints featuring petroglyphs found in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in addition to three-hole pinhole projectors that can be used by visitors to safely project the Sun.
Kids also made bracelets using color-changing beads sensitive to ultra-violet light to explore how planetary scientists use detectors to collect different kinds of light across the Solar System. Visitors could also collect space themed bookmarks and hand stamps.
PSI scientists and educators staffing the event included Senior Education and Communication Specialist and Senior Scientist Sanlyn Buxner and her daughter Annyse Buxner, Senior Scientist Kathryn Volk, Research Assistant Maya Bakerman, Senior Education and Communication SpecialistLarry Lebofsky, Laboratory Technician Neil Pearson, Senior Scientist Bea Mueller.
