During the next few weeks, Comet Pan-STARRS will grace our skies as a naked-eye comet. As its name indicates, astronomers discovered this comet on June 6, 2011, using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, a planned array of telescopes in Hawaii. This array’s primary mission is to detect near-Earth objects (comets and asteroids […]
Looking for something to do with your little paleontologist over spring break? Well, we have some dino-mite options for you! First, check out this Photo Scavenger Hunt of the Morian Hall of Paleontology. All of the images on the hunt are of specimens or images you can easily see in the hall. The trick? We […]
When HMNS’ Wildlife on Wheels hit Johnston Middle School on Feb. 14, it wasn’t for your run-of-the-mill presentation. Our live animal presentations are anything but average, but this one was particularly fascinating: The students in Christina Gutierrez’s art class got to draw the wildlife they met, and their completed work is something special: Taryn Tsujimoto, […]
Some people might lounge away their Spring Break on a deck chair or — worse — in front of the television. But not you. You’re a doer, not a sitter. You take life standing up, not splayed out on the sofa! Let the other kiddies waste their week; you’re soaring to Eagle Week at the […]
Jupiter is almost overhead at dusk, but now a little toward the west. Face high in the west at dusk and look for the brightest thing there (unless the Moon is also there), as Jupiter outshines all stars we ever see at night. Saturn remains in the morning sky this month. Look for it in […]
When you look up at the night sky, do you ever think you’re seeing other solar systems? Do you ever wonder if any of the stars you see have planets like Earth in orbit around them? We have discovered that seven planets and more than a hundred moons in our solar system are simply not […]
In economic terms, bees far outstrip butterflies and moths as pollinators. However, there are some plants that are exclusively pollinated by butterflies — especially some wildflowers and garden ornamentals — and several night-blooming species are specifically pollinated by hawkmoths. Butterflies and moths are members of the insect order “Lepidoptera” — the scaly-winged insects. In addition […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: We’re gearing up for our Xplorations Summer Camps, and online registration for Family level museum members starts Monday, March 4 at 12:01 a.m. That’s right. It’s like Black Friday, except replace the rock-bottom deals on televisions with crazy-awesome intensive science camps. And it’s on a Monday. So, […]
You’ve probably seen those scrumptious sweets we’ve posted over the last few months: A butter-cream (and bronze) mummy here, a delicious chocolate-dipped dinosaur there . . . well, there’s a story behind those geeky goodies, and it starts right here at HMNS. One of our membership staff, Jillian Villa, runs a successful pastry business when […]
Pi Day is all about circles, circumference and diameter. Pi (approximately 3.14) is delicious is the ratio of a circle’s circumference divided by its diameter. This ratio is the same for all circles. In the spirit of Pi Day, let’s see what we can do with the fabulously fun circle and what we learn along the […]
