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Chabot Space & Science Center launches special summer activities

13 June 2001 – OAKLAND, CA: Chabot Space & Science Center launches the first full summer of public programs in its new facilities high in the Oakland Hills, with up-close viewing of a solar eclipse and rocket workshops for visitors of all ages.

The summer season kicks off early in the morning on the summer solstice, June 21, with a live webcast viewing of a total solar eclipse over southern and central Africa. Not visible from North America, this first total solar eclipse of the new millennium will be broadcast live from Zambia, via satellite and high-speed Internet connections. The event is made possible by the San Francisco Exploratorium with support from NASA, and features official endorsement by the National Society of Black Physicists. The early morning public gathering at Chabot begins at 5 a.m., leading up to the 6 a.m. eclipse, and continues to 8 a.m. For those who aren't early risers, the eclipse can also be viewed on the Internet at www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse.

Other special features at Chabot Space & Science Center this summer include the stunning exhibition "Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe," on view through August 12. Organized by the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service, the exhibition and its educational programs have been made possible through the generous support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Offices of Space Science and Education and Lockheed Martin. Also opening is Shadow Dance, a new permanent multimedia eclipse exhibit created exclusively for Chabot and made possible in part by SGI. And the newly restored 8-inch refractor telescope, Leah, is now open to the public for the first time in 2 years and will be trained on Mars throughout the summer, as the Red Planet is now on its closest approach to Earth since 1988.

A highlight of this summer's programs is a new series of Spotlight activities that focus on the aerodynamics of different types of rockets. Rocket-making workshops run on weekends from June 19 through September 30, as well as weekdays during summer vacation. Through June, the rocket activities alternate with the current schedule of Astronaut Training Camp.

Weekend activities take place 12:30 - 2 p.m. and 2:30 - 4 p.m. Weekday workshops are from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 - 4 p.m. All activities are held in the Envirolab, except for Water Rockets, which are outdoors in the Envirogarden. Activities include:

• Water Rockets: Water as rocket fuel? Find out how high H2O can go!

• Rocket Cars: Construct your own air-powered car to race with friends!

• Paper Airplanes: Choose a paper airplane (or design your own!) and let it fly.

• Multistage Balloon Rockets: Learn about rocket staging by building a two-stage balloon rocket. Just as one balloon runs out, the other kicks in!

• Pop Rockets: A little creativity, a little chemistry, a lot of rocketry fun.

• Staff Choice: The education staff will choose and host their favorite rocket activities from the summer.

The calendar of summer workshops is as follows:
June 19 - 22 Water Rockets
June 23 - 24 Astronaut Training Camp
June 26 - 29, July 1 Rocket Cars
June 30 Astronaut Training Camp
July 3 - 8 Paper Airplanes
July 10 - 15 Double Stage Balloons
July 17 - 22 Pop Rockets
July 24 - 29 Water Rockets
July 31 - August 5 Rocket Cars
August 7 - 12 Paper Airplanes
August 14 - 19 Double Stage Balloons
August 21 - 26 Pop Rockets
August 28 - 31 Staff choice
September 1-2 Water Rockets
September 8-9 Rocket Cars
September 15-16 Paper Airplanes
September 22-23 Double Stage Balloons

The new Chabot Space & Science Center opened to the public on August 19, 2000. It is an innovative teaching and learning center focusing on astronomy and the inter-relationships of all the sciences. Its telescope and observatory complex, domed-screen Tien MegaDome Theater, Ask Jeeves Planetarium, exhibits and natural park setting are a place where students, teachers and the public can imagine, understand and learn to shape their future. Set amid thirteen trail-laced acres in Joaquin Miller Park, with glorious views of San Francisco Bay and the Oakland foothills, the $76-million complex offers a hands-on celebration of sights, sounds, and science. 

Chabot Space & Science Center is the continuation and expansion of Oakland, California's public Chabot Observatory that has served San Francisco Bay Area schools and citizens with astronomy and science education programs for 117 years. The institution began in 1883 as the Oakland Observatory, through a gift from Anthony Chabot to the City of Oakland. The original Oakland Observatory was located in downtown Oakland, and provided public telescope viewing for the community. For decades, it served as the official timekeeping station for the entire Bay Area, measuring time with its transit telescope.

Chabot Space & Science Center galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm. General admission is $8 for adults and $5.50 for seniors and children. (There is an additional fee for admission to the Ask Jeeves Planetarium and Tien MegaDome Theater.) Chabot Space & Science Center is located at 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland (in Joaquin Miller Park). Convenient visitor-paid parking is available on site, and AC Transit bus line 53 provides direct service from the Fruitvale BART station and points between.

For more information, call Chabot Space & Science Center at (510) 336-7300. A full schedule of summer programs and special events is available on the website at www.chabotspace.org.

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