In AstroFest, a program that began last night, both parents and their children can experience what it's like to be an astronomer.

Chris Palma, director of outreach for the Penn State department of astronomy and astrophysics and co-organizer of AstroFest said the event would be a unique experience for the families in attendance.

"We have fun activities and lots of educational stuff that you probably wouldn't see just by going to planetariums," Palma said. "It is really a fun and interesting presentation on what's going on in modern astronomy and physics. We do a lot of stuff that is out of the ordinary and that gives insight to what exactly we do."

The program will be held concurrently with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. every night through Saturday on the fifth floor of Davey Laboratory.

Palma said that the main goal of the program is to be a community outreach event for families in the area.

"We really want to introduce people to astronomy on a large scale," Palma said. "We have programs with grade school children all year long as well as public lectures that invite speakers in, but AstroFest in particular is our time of year to invite the community as a whole and to get families to come visit Davey Lab."

Denise Costanzo, one of several parents in attendance last night, said she brought her son Gabriel so that he could capture a little of what it's like to be in space.

"My son is at an age where he loves space," Costanzo said. "For him, being able to see the telescope and being around astronomers is really inspirational. [Astronomy] really sparks our imagination from an early age."

Also trying to spark his imagination was 10-year-old Corby Smith, who came with his aunt, Jeanne Smith.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the planetarium and 'Drivers Ed.[: Mars Rover Edition]'," Corby said, referring to an exhibition where kids can drive remote-controlled cars over a Mars-like landscape.

His aunt said that they got the idea to come when they ran into students who were helping coordinate the event.

"We saw a telescope on the Old Main lawn and students there told us about the event, so [Corby] got permission from his parents and I was able to bring him," Smith said.

Jane Charlton, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, and another co-organizer of AstroFest, said there are several benefits that come from attending the festival.

"We have a bunch of new kids' activities this year that we haven't tried before, mostly for older kids," Charlton said. "I think that if some of the kids that come want to think about this as a career, it's never too early to start thinking about it. We also want to make people aware of what we're doing so they can support the government funding of astronomy."

While Palma said attendance the past two years has been hindered by bad weather, he expects a much larger crowd this year.

"Our first year was 1999 and we've done it every year since then," Palma said.

"We're really hoping to have maybe 500 or 600 people a night and 2,000 for the whole event," Palma added.