Space-savvy Keiki To Meet Cat Astronaut
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Del.icio.usThings are looking up, way up, at Kaneohe’s center for outer space. In fact, astronomical ideas are popping up so often nowadays at Windward Community College that its planetarium has made room for science entertainment in the form of a feline astronaut.
Making his debut at 7 p.m. this Friday is Larry Cat in Space, an interactive, 40-minute family show adapted for local audiences by astronomy professor Joe Ciotti from the national hit by Loch Ness Productions. The program features storytelling, slides, video, an audio track, animation and live presenters with interactive dialog to keep earthlings of all ages on their toes.
“It’s a great show for kids,” said Imaginarium manager Nancy Ali. “We’re really excited about it, because we needed a new show for them.”
The story line has a cat following his favorite human, a lunar geologist, to the moon. He stows away in a “space plane,” stops at a space station, and finally catches a shuttle to the moon.
The show presents a cat’s perspective on lunar adventures, including the puzzling phenomenon of gravity. Why does he bounce around so lightly? he wonders.
Well ... Retired WCC professor and tireless aerospace science volunteer Jacqueline Maly developed a great lesson plan to answer that very question - right here on earth. She’s bringing two Hello Kitty dolls to share at the Larry Cat in Space show.
“They’re exactly the same size, one’s pink and one’s blue,” Maly said.“What we wanted is a tactile way to show what the difference would be (between moon and earth gravity). One of them is stuffed with metal things, so it weighs six times as much as the other.”
Sticking with the interactive theme, Maly also will invite the inaugural audience to create names for the dolls.
Larry Cat in Space will be shown every other month, alternating with other Friday night astronomy programs in the 66-seat theater, which is full of special effects and has response buttons at each seat.Admission at the door is $5, $4 and $3. For more information, call 236-9169.
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