Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Joliet Library served as the local Planetarium for just one evening, as it hosted a Family Stargazing Night for viewers.
Activities ranged from a telescope being brought over from Adler Planetarium, starry night crafts being displayed and used by children, robots that kids were able to learn how to move moon rocks, a documentary about stargazing, space books and a solar system walk.
“The solar system walk is pretty cool because people can see the relative distance between the planets and learn facts about each of the planets as they go back,” said Laura Yanchick, Manager of Youth Services. “Looking for constellations throughout the building, making their own constellations and learning things about space they previously didn’t know is great as well.”
Family Stargazing Night was the first time ever the library hosted an event such as this, but events at the Joliet Library are constant according to Yanchick.
A sheet was given to each person in attendance Friday night, with a plethora of Constellations and telescope numbers that said when each viewer was allowed to step outside to see through the telescope.
Antila, Ara, Aries, Chamaelon, Circinus, Corona-Australis, Corona-Borealis, Corvus, Crater, Delphinus, Dorado, Equuleus, Horologium, Lacerta, Libra, Microscopium, Musca, Norma, Orion’s Belt, Pyxis, Sagitta, Telescopium, Ursa-Minor, Vela and Volans were all displayed during the search, as well as in the documentary and in the wide variety of books.
To Yanchick, she said she is always learning for experts and those with years of knowledge within each activity to come and help the community and other participants gain better knowledge and enjoy activities at the library.
“We know a little bit about a lot of things is something I like to say,” Yanchick said. “We love finding experts such as the visitor from Adler Planetarium, we’re going to do a field trip this summer that’s a virtual field trip with the Shed Aquarium where they will web cam into us and take us through the shark exhibit and we do family field trips through Joliet all the time.
For someone that deals with youth services and that provides a lot of entertainment especially for kids, she said that she was pretty surprised and enjoyed seeing the many faces Friday night, including adults that showed up and took a large interest in the first time activity.
“We are so excited seeing everyone, but we’re really excited seeing adults here that have come without children, as well as people with children,” Yanchick said. “For people to really find an all ages thing is something we really love, and we’re excited to see the science, art and experience everything with the robots.”