By FHSU University Marketing and Strategic Communications
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center (KWEC) invites the public to join its staff for a free, family-friendly Perseid meteor shower watch party on Friday, Aug. 14, from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
This annual event celebrates the end of summer as the Earth passes through the dust and debris of the Swift-Tuttle comet, creating a spectacular display of meteors or “shooting stars” in the night sky. Stargazers may be able to spot 60-100 meteors per hour.
Located northeast of Great Bend on K-156 Highway, the KWEC offers an ideal location for comfortable sky-watching. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to relax on the KWEC lawn while enjoying the celestial show.
With a Rocket Revolution theme, the evening will feature several rocket and space-themed learning stations. The Kansas Organization for Spacemodeling (KOSMO) will conduct two rocket launches, weather permitting, during the event. They will also have a display table and can answer a wide range of rocket-related questions, and plan to give away four rocket starter kits throughout the night.
Other activities include having participants make their own mission control patches complete with their unique astronaut name, conducting a stomp rocket engineering payload challenge, launching their own film canister rockets, and designing a rocket pulley. Planetarium shows will be offered in the inflatable planetarium, and the campfire area will be fully stocked with S’mores supplies.
The event will proceed rain or shine, but clear skies are necessary for optimal meteor shower viewing.
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center, affiliated with FHSU’s Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics, is located 10 miles northeast of Great Bend along Kansas Highway 156 at Cheyenne Bottoms, 592 NE K-156 Hwy, Great Bend, KS 67530.
For more information, visit wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu or call 1-877-243-9268.