I’m a big fan of anything that brings people face to face with amazing science, and it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening in The World At Night (TWAN), an international program to display beautiful images of the night sky in American malls.
Exhibiting these pictures in 24 shopping malls across the United States, in cities big and small, is part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, which celebrates astronomy and its greatness on the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope. The images include not just the starry sky and celestial events, but natural and cultural landmarks as well, giving context for both the heavens and Earth.
Plus, each of the malls hosting an exhibit also will have other projects designed to spark interest in astronomy, events such as contests, dances, and workshops. The United States is not TWAN’s only destination, with calls in Australia, Italy, and Brazil earlier this year. For a full list of TWAN’s venues, visit www.twanight.org.
Some people might be horrified to think malls are the new springboards for science appreciation, but I think it’s a great way to snag some unsuspecting back-to-school shoppers and make potential astronomy fans out of them. Even if they don’t go out and buy telescopes, just reminding them that the sky’s a wonderful place could go a long way toward appreciating and funding astronomy. It doesn’t suffer from other sciences’ abstractness, so we don’t have to trick people to be interested in the stars — we just have to show them. And if the best place to do it is the mall, so be it.
Do you think this is a good idea, smart for astronomy? Or is it horrible, another indication of the coarsening of our culture? And would you interrupt your busy shopping to look at some pictures of the night sky?
Photo credit: Wally Pacholka/AstroPics.com/TWAN