By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A space-themed weekend is coming up Sept. 10 in Larned. That Saturday, the Santa Fe Trail Center and Fort Larned National Historic Site will host hands-on and instructional events that are free to the public. The events are a celebration of the scientific achievements of the James Webb Telescope. Fort Larned Park Ranger Celeste Dixon offers a hint about the telescope.
"It takes pictured with infrared, which actually allows it to see past the dust clouds that get in the way," she said. "These dust clouds in space block visible light, but infrared light gets through so it can take pictures much further out into space and get much clearer pictures than Hubble can get."
The fun begins Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at the Santa Fe Trail Center. A "Walking the Galaxy" event outdoors will provide a scaled demonstration of the size of the solar system. Kids can build a bead bracelet and learn about the life cycles of massive stars, and a "Meeting the Neighbors" program will discuss neighboring planets and galaxies. A discussion about telescopes follows at 11 a.m.
"We're going to be giving a talk on, basically, the history of telescopes, going from the homemade telescope of Clyde Tombaugh, who grew up over by Burdett, and that will lead to James Webb," said Santa Fe Trail Museum Director Seth McFarland.
After a brief break, events resume at the Fort Larned National Historic Site from 1-3:30 p.m. Programming there will include rotating images from the Webb Telescope with a discussion of how it works. Hands-on activities include "packing a telescope" to demonstrate how Webb was launched into space, and spinning a nebulous using a salad spinner.
Admission is free to both events, however standard admission rates will apply for tours of the Santa Fe Trail Museum.
Fort Larned will also be hosting free living history before Labor Day on Saturday, Sept. 3. A blacksmith demonstration begins at 10 a.m., followed by a firearms demonstration with small arms and a Howitzer at 11 a.m. Programs on Buffalo Soldiers, drum calls of the Civil War Era, and life on officer's row follow in the afternoon. Admission is free for all events.