The Souris Valley Museum partnered with the Regina Astronomical Society to teach the history of the sky and the stars to children and families in Estevan.
“Night Under the Stars is a new event the museum is hosting this year as a part of our summer lineup,” said Mark Veneziano, curator and director at the museum.
“Our summer lineup this year also includes our Teddy Bear Picnic … as well as our pioneer fun day on August 18.”
Designed in partnership with the Regina Astronomical Society, the event was created in hopes of teaching youths and families about the history of the stars and constellation groups that they are part of, as well as other interesting astronomical facts and history.
“This is a very interesting and unique event,” said Veneziano. “We had the privilege of partnering with the Regina Astronomical Society so they came down from Regina with a team of volunteers and brought telescopes as well as possibly a solar telescope to be able to look at the sun during dusk.”
As a part of the museum’s spring break activities this year, a space history exploration camp was held for children in the community. Although the camp was a success, kids and parents alike had asked the museum to hold an event in the evening, allowing further exploration and understanding of the stars, which prompted the creation of the Night Under the Stars.
“We decided to open the museum for additional hours for the event, running from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Veneziano.
“We think the hours will allow families to come down to the museum and participate in a range of space related events, including our alien toss, photo booths and our train like an astronaut station, as well as using telescopes to explore the stars. We also have a snack concession with proceeds going to funding the museum.”
The event was open to families and youths of all ages with donation-based admission to the museum, and a concession stand was offered with proceeds going to further events and activities at the museum.
“Because it’s a new event we didn’t know how successful it would be,” said Veneziano.
“If it’s successful we will definitely look at doing something similar again, possibly next summer, or in the fall as we would like to have something scheduled in the autumn months.”
Veneziano also stated the museum would like to thank the Regina Astronomical Society for their help in planning the event and providing a team of volunteers to assist with the activities, as well as the community for being supportive and continuing to attend museum sponsored events such as a Night Under the Stars.
