Though it seems like summer reading just began, it’s actually more than half over – the busy half, too.  After Wednesday, the special programs that I’ve scheduled will taper off, with only one major program in August, as well as two more movie nights, a craft program, and the finale picnic.

Since my last post, we’ve had a successful “Night Sky” program, with four half-hour sessions spread out over three hours.  We were close to full capacity, which made me very happy, and everyone left the Starlab a bit starry-eyed and dazzled.  For me, the whole experience was positive, from Molly, the instructor, who was competent, intelligent, and efficient; to the Starlab fitting so nicely into Volunteers Hall; to sitting in the hallway-with-a-view with each group as they awaited their turn.  This hallway is lined with windows, with one view down the old minister’s path to the church, and the other view out over the library’s parking lot (so you can “watch the pass”).  As I sat with each group, the kids and parents and I chatted about all sorts of things:  the new Harry Potter, which had not yet been released, summer vacations, and favorite summer books.  A nice bunch of people – it was enjoyable to socialize with them in a relaxed environment.

Since I was tending to attendance and such between each of the first three sessions, it wasn’t until the last session that I got to go into Starlab myself.  Molly gave careful instructions on how to enter the tunnel going to Starlab, and how to sit once inside.  A simple hunched-over walk through the tunnel, then we all sat on the wooden library floor inside the dome, and got to see several constellations, which Molly described using a red pointer beam that clarified where the head and tail and such were for these constellations.  We also learned a bit about Polaris and saw a cool Powerpoint graphic on just how the earth wobbles on its axis; Toby had asked how long it would be until we had a new North Star, and we were all surprised to see how many thousands of years it would be until the shift happened.

Throughout the presentation, the cute little boy sitting next to me had an incredibly hard time keeping still (he really was far too young to attend, one of the downsides of library programs, since it’s harder to restrict ages than in a school program) and frequently knocked the sides of the dome.  By the time we exited Starlab, I was good n’ woozy from the wobbling dome sides and the subsequently shifting stars, and felt a bit like I had all those years ago when I walked out of the movie theater after watching Star Wars for the first time.  Happy, but a little nauseous.

After all the attendees had left for home, and Molly had packed up the Starlab and headed out, I went and ate a quick dinner before setting up Volunteers Hall for that night’s movie night….(to be continued)