EVANSTON - The fascinating world of outer space is coming to Earth July 13 during Astronomy Night at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, thanks, in part, to Northwestern University.
Seventeen faculty, staff, graduate students and interns from the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Science in Society will be presenting kid-friendly, hands-on activities before and after the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s performance at Ravinia’s space-themed program, “The Planets -- An HD Odyssey.”
Before, during and after the concert, attendees also can view celestial objects in the sky, weather permitting, through many telescopes scattered across Ravinia’s large lawn. Gates open at 5 p.m.; the concert begins at 8 p.m.
The concert program includes the theme to “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” during which a new film from NASA, “The Planets -- An HD Odyssey,” featuring vivid solar system images from space explorations, will be shown on screens in the pavilion and on the lawn. The images will be coordinated to the music.
Astronomy Night is organized by Professor Donald Lubowich, a Northwestern alumnus and coordinator of astronomy outreach at Hofstra University.
For this special evening, children 15 and under are admitted free to the lawn, and students with a valid ID are $10 (lawn). Tickets and additional information are available from Ravinia.