The UT Space Institute’s First Star Party
On November 1, The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) held its first Star Party with over 150 in attendance. The Hands-on Science Center brought their planetarium and also instructed kids in building and shooting straw rockets. The STREAM van, sponsored by the Franklin County Board of Education and the Franklin County Educational Foundation for Excellence, set up a coding program for the kids. Lonnie Puterbaugh brought his “Awestronomy Van” fully equipped with recorded experiments from space, piece of a meteorite and his telescope. Several UTSI graduate students set up telescopes and the UTSI observatory was open for viewing of Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon. Guests enjoyed refreshments and movies playing in the auditorium. Thanks again to UTSI staff, students, faculty and volunteers who helped make this event a success.
