Planetarium Field Trip

Can you believe today was so exciting that it warranted a second post?!  Well it was. 

Waiting Outside the Planetarium

Right after our assembly, we ate lunch, and then departed for the Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center.  Unfortunately due to some bus issues, we were late and missed our first show.  I was sorely disappointed.  Thankfully though, the people working in the Planetarium agreed to extend our second show to include some aspects of the first show we missed.  How nice! 

We saw a showed called, "Change Your Latitude," which featured the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere.  Afterwards, we were able to see the night sky of Missouri.  What excited me most was how they explained the navigation of explorers based on the stars.  This is a great connection between our science to our upcoming social studies unit!

Following the show, we were waiting for our bus when we noticed a group of guys working on a project blowing up a balloon.  Miss Benoit inquired about what they were doing.  Sure enough, they were preparing to send up a weather balloon in order to measure the ozone levels in our atmosphere as part of a nation-wide project with NASA.  They even asked if we would like to help launch it.  Two of our classmates helped send up into the sky at the end of our countdown just as our bus rolled up.  

3...2..1!

Up, up, and away!

What a day!  Famous author visit, making wishes, seeing the sky from the Southern Hemisphere, then going back to see it from the Northern Hemisphere, and helping NASA launch a weather balloon...all before math time!  Whew!