Programming Ideas and Resources

“Visions of the Universe: Four Centuries of Discovery” Site Support Notebook

Galileo Galilei re-enactor,
www.mohumanities.org/Library/PDF/NationalChautauquaDirectory_v4_1.pdf





This is a Missouri Humanities Council directory, listed alphabetically by historical personality, of all performers nationwide who interpret historical figures in costume and take questions “in character” after the presentation, with links to their web sites. One interpreter of Galileo Galilei is listed:

Fred Krebs


8520 W 61st St,


Mission, KS 66202-2935

fkrebs@jccc.edu


(913) 677-4419

Find professional and amateur astronomers in your community or people with links to astronomy who have stories, diaries, artifacts. Create related exhibits with their materials, ask them to speak at a program, or arrange for them to demonstrate with their telescopes. Tape their presentations and stories.

Use the International Year of Astronomy Discovery Guides at
www.astrosociety.org/iya/guides.html

. Use the themes for the months your library has the exhibit and carry out the hands-on activity that explores the theme; have a local astronomer talk about the featured celestial object and how to find it in the sky. Provide a telescope to find the object.

Sponsor a book group program during the exhibit using a popular treatment of some of the themes from the “Visions of the Universe” exhibit. (one title for adults, one for young adults, one for children); or a reading and discussion series with two to three books about exhibit themes (see bibliography section of the notebook).

If there’s time, libraries hosting other exhibitions have done an exhibit “teaser” event one to two months before the exhibit arrives to generate interest—events included lectures, films, storytelling, games, etc.

Do some hands-on astronomy activities for visiting school groups and families:

www.astrosociety.org/education/activities/handson.html

lists many activities that are low-cost.

Other Program Resources for Libraries

www.astronomy2009.org/resources/posters/viewall/




At this website, you can download posters for the International Year of Astronomy in English, Persian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and French in small and large jpeg files.

www.thinkbutton.com/astronomy.asp?ga=google&gclid=CLri-PXZqpcCFQrFGgodGiIeiw




A website with products for sale, including children’s astronomy toys, books, and games that celebrate environmental awareness, creative expression and social understanding.

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/visions



Exhibit materials for educators; clicking on any of exhibit panels on the main page will lead you to a downloadable poster and a downloadable supplemental materials booklet for that section of the exhibit.