If the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts isn't festive enough, a little celebration under the stars after the sun goes down might be just the thing for you.
The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics will host its 7th annual free astronomy festival, AstroFest, from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. today through Saturday on the 5th and 6th floors of Davey Laboratory and the 2nd floor of the Osmond/Davey overpass.
"We'll give people a taste of a number of different things at a level that everyone can understand," AstroFest coordinator and astronomy and astrophysics professor Jane Charlton said.
AstroFest first started in 1999 by a group of undergraduate students who wanted to take advantage of the number of people in the area for Arts Fest.
"It's really great because people are already around and it's not such a problem to come up and see something else," Charlton said.
AstroFest activities include stargazing, a planetarium show, space presentations, and activities for kids.
From the roof of Davey Laboratory, visitors will be able to see moon craters, Jupiter and star clusters from several different telescopes, the largest of which spans 24 inches in diameter.
"Even if it rains you'll get to see and do a lot," AstroFest volunteer Sherry Dawn Jackson said.
Indoor activities include interactive games with prizes, a Mars Rover simulation, and a cosmic timeline tour starting with the Big Bang and ending at present day.
The tour is about 15 minutes long and will give additional factual information about the history of the universe, tour guide Therese Jones (freshmen-astronomy) said.
Throughout their four-day exhibition period, the Astrology Department will also present 16 different topics, including what would happen if there were no moon, the mythological origins of constellations and the biggest energy explosions in the universe.
The presentations are no longer than 20 minutes and will explore the latest scientific research in astronomy.
"It's not the kind of thing where you can come one night and see it all," Charlton said. In past years, AstroFest has had about 2,000 visitors during the event.
"I enjoy interacting with the public and doing some of the outreach programs," Josh Tobolewski (junior-astronomy and astrophysics) said. Tobolewski said he would discuss constellation mythology during his presentation this year.
"The stories explain where [the stars] are in the sky and it makes it easier for the public," he said.
Children will also have the opportunity to understand space better by making comets with dry ice and their own moon craters by dropping rocks into flour.
The all-volunteer festival is sponsored by a grant given to Penn State by NASA for science education and public research.
