“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!” Captain Kirk’s immortal words stick with all of us, young and old, forever curious about the universe we live in.
The United Nations has designated World Space Week to start on October the 4th and end on the 10th. But the Scientific Center of Kuwait are giving us an entire month of uninterrupted space fun.
TSCK will be transforming the center into something amazing that will enthrall all visitors. Walk through the birth of a star in reverse in the halls of the Scientific center, starting at the entrance. Learn how it forms from the pillars of creation, becomes a red dwarf, a supernova and finally collapses into a black hole. Information is available at every stage so you can fully understand the process.
Space belongs to all humanity, it unites us and ignites a curiosity equally present in five-year-olds and seventy-year-olds. We have all, at some point in our lives, stared at a starry sky and wondered what was up there, or what it would be like to visit. Sadly, we sometimes get swept away by life’s hustle and bustle and forget to look up. Which is why TSCK want to immerse you in their space- centric experiences.
They are also building a huge model of the solar system in the central court, complete with informational boxes connected to each planet so you can learn something new or envision it with ease. Red dirt shows you what Mars’ surface would be like and you can watch the yellowish gas that gives Venus its color. Aside from the complete visual walk-through experience, fun, activity booths will line the hallway. You can take your own starry selfie, make galaxy play- dough and create a nebula in a jar. All of this just for the regular price of admission.
The Discovery Center will be hosting daily workshops for kids, so they can get some hands-on fun while learning. And there will be a larger event every weekend. Alia Almansoori, the thirteen-year-old Emirati winner of the Genes in Space UAE competition is scheduled to speak about her experiment and its implications on space travel and exploration. The translation of the book, Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System by Dr. Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman is being launched in the same weekend. This activity in particular is part of KFAS’s program to translate children’s science books into Arabic to make them more accessible for local audiences.
Movie lovers should rejoice, because Interstellar will be showing on the third weekend of October on the huge screens. Having won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, the movie is definitely a much richer experience in IMAX. The final weekend of October is going to be very special. TSCK have invited Kuwaiti space geek and inventor Nasser Ashkanani, to speak about his adventures and host a rocket building workshop. You do not want to miss this one.
The workshops and weekend events are meant to engage children and adults alike, you just need to make sure you register in advance because space is limited, and demand is high.
The Scientific Center of Kuwait is excited about the thematic installation and is aiming for more of these regularly throughout the year to get everyone else excited about learning. As a center, they believe that keeping children curious and interested helps them reach their full potential. With science and exploration as a basis for learning, childrens’ minds are open to endless opportunities!
For more details on the Scientific Center’s Space Month activities, events and workshops follow them on Instagram @scicenterkw and Facebook @tsckuwait.
Featured image courtesy of The Scientific Center of Kuwait.
