This past weekend J and I took the older kids into Cambridge for an event at the Harvard Observatory. It was called “An Evening with the Stars: Supernovae,” and was led by Dr. Sam Palmer, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The presentation was about super-giant stars; the speaker was dynamic and showed us many cool photos of supernovae. As he said, “supernovae can teach a bit about where we came from, and where we may be going.” This is a supernova remnant (the debris that’s left behind) named Crab Nebula:
Since there was a rate for children 15 and under we thought this would be appropriate and interesting for our kids. It was interesting, but a bit high-level … a lot of it went over MY head! After the one-hour talk we went up to the Observatory and saw The Great Refractor, the original Harvard telescope installed in 1847. Yes, over 150 years ago; it was awesome. I imagined those early researchers sitting up there star-gazing in their 3-piece suits!
We then went on the roof to another dome where we were able to look thru a telescope to see Saturn, complete with ring and moons. The Boston/Cambridge area has a lot of “light pollution” which sometimes makes it difficult to see the smaller stars. Fortunately the anticipated “partly cloudy” never rolled in, so we were able to see a lot with bare eyes and the telescope.
It was a fun night, even though the presentation was more technical than I expected it to be. Before the event we ate at a restaurant of my kids choosing, FiRE + iCE Improvisational Grill. This is one of those dining experiences where the emphasis is on experience, not dining. We filled bowls our choice of meats, veggies, and starches, then took them to a HUGE grill in the middle of the restaurant where the staff cooked it. We ate our creations wrapped in tortillas. Here’s a pic from their website:
It seems like a good place to take a bunch of kids for a birthday party, they loved the concept! It won’t be a regular stop when J and I go out alone. 
We decided the “fire and ice” theme went along well with our evening, since we were learning about fiery stars in the icy sky.
The post below this one has mini reviews of a few books from my bookcase that fit the evening, There’s No Place Like Space by Tish Rabe and DK Stars and Planets.
That talk sounds so interesting! I love space stuff.
Even if it is over my head, I love that stuff. I will go to any planetarium in the vicinity. We have a dining experience similar to this, but is asian food. It is called Hu Hot. I went, it was OK, but I haven’t been back!
Sounds like a great nice. We have a place like that grill in Bethesda, called Mongolian Barbeque, and our kids like it (and they are really picky, so this is no small triumph!)
S.Krishna – yes, I remember that the topic interests you; the presenter wasn’t dry at all, I just think it was too much for my son (he got very fidgety!)
Sandy – The food tasted fine, but I’m not a big fan of buffets, which is how the raw stuff was laid out.
sarah – it’s great to find a restaurant everyone can agree on! When J and I go out alone I always look for someplace without a kids menu
Awesome…I would love to go someplace like this.
What a fun thing to do! I’m envious.
That sounds like such a fun evening. It would probably be over my head too but I’d love it anyway. lol.
wow, sounds like a great time…I miss cambridge!
Violet – it was a really nice event, despite the lecture being a little “out there” for our son. The history of the observatory was fascinating, and using the telescopes was a great experience.
LuAnn – we were lucky that the timing worked for us to be able to go
Dar – I keep telling myself I picked up some of it by osmosis, even it my brain didn’t grasp it.
Serena – I tell you, I feel younger when I can get in there!
what i love about asian foods is that they are always tasty and spice-’”