Planetarium programs bring outer space to life

Trenton Cummings has studied about moon, planets, sun and high-powered telescopes in science class. But it wasn't until he took his first trip to the Kenner Planetarium and Megadome Cinema in Rivertown that it became more than just pictures and words in a textbook.

"I learned that the moon has different phases," said Trenton, 8, a third-grader at Emily C. Watkins School in LaPlace. "I also learned that when a rocket lands on one of the moon's craters, it creates a big cloud of dust and that if we find water on the moon it will be like finding gold."

Trenton and 149 of his classmates in the third, fourth and fifth grades were among the school children and public who were at the planetarium recently to help celebrate NASA's latest moon mission. Earlier in the day, two unstaffed NASA spacecraft crashed into the moon to search for ice and important resources for future sustainable exploration.

Heidi Ransom, coordinator for the Kenner Planetarium and MegaDome Cinema, planned the day around the NASA mission.

"We wanted to make the public was aware of what NASA is doing," Ransom said. "And we also hope we can help inspire children who will be the next generation of engineers, scientists and astronauts to study math and science."

A video of the spacecraft crashing into the moon was shown continuously in the theater while members of the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society were outside with their telescopes and solar binoculars for the public to view the sun.

Chris Smith, astro camp coordinator for the Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Miss., directed several fun games for the children, including the Lunar Lander and the Moon Phase Game.

"It was fun to see the sun through a telescope," said Eduardo Robles, 8, a third-grader at Watkins.

His schoolmate, Angel Taylor, 8, said the field trip helped her "learn more about the planets and constellations."...