Examining the night sky can be a fickle pursuit during spring in Montana, with passing showers often obscuring the stars.
That won’t be a problem for the STARLAB.
At first glance, it looks like a giant inflatable black igloo. A small opening can squeeze in about 40 students. Inside, A 360-degree video projector turns the domed ceiling into a mountain skyline, a coral reef, and of course, the night sky. Videos can trace constellations and explain interstellar phenomena.
Students in Billings will have a chance to check out the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming's lab during a series of upcoming events, beginning on Friday at Riverside Middle School from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A pair of Montana State University Billings professors will also host other astronomy projects.
The STARLAB was purchased with grants from the national Girl Scouts organization and NASA. It reflects a growing emphasis on science and technology education for the group.
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“Girl Scouts is about a lot more than cookies and crafts,” said Cortni Cross, COO of the Montana and Wyoming branch.
The lab's portability appealed to the group — only a handful of planetariums cover the two-state swath, and the group plans to use the lab in cities across Montana and Wyoming, hopefully giving kids access to a planetarium-like experience they wouldn’t normally be able to see.
For Stuart Snyder, an MSUB physics professor, exposure to those experiences is critical for inspiring kids to pursue careers in science-related fields. By fourth grade he had settled upon being a scientist.
“I’m sure that looking at the night sky, mysteries of the night sky, was one of those things that started that,” he said.
Snyder helps lead local astronomy groups, and will bring a telescope and spectral lamp to the Friday event with another professor.
The telescope will be at the mercy of clouds, but if the weather cooperates, he plans to target the Orion constellation.
“There’s a really spectacular nebula in Orion that we can look at,” he said.
If clouds do encroach, Snyder plans to fire up the spectral lamps, which help measure light from stars that can reveal the elements that they’re from.
The events are set to continue at three other schools in Billings. Each event, including at Riverside, has a $5 fee.
- April 26, 7-9 p.m., Medicine Crow Middle School
- May 3, 7-9 p.m., Lewis and Clark Middle School
- May 17, 7-9 p.m., Castle Rock Middle School