This Friday, Aug. 11, the Kansas Wetlands Education Center will hold a party under falling stars.
To be more precise, KWEC will hold its fifth annual Perseid Meteor Shower viewing party at 9 p.m.
“We’ll be partying no matter the weather, so don’t let a few clouds scare you and your family away,” said Jean Aycock at the Wetlands Center. “Everyone can enjoy s’mores roasted over a fire along with other refreshments while we watch the sky.”
There will be crafts and games until it’s dark enough for the stargazing to begin.
The Perseid Meteor Show got its name because the meteors appear to come from the constellation Perseus. It happens every August when the earth passes through the trail of dust and debris left by the Swift-Tuttle comet.
It’s one of the most exciting meteor showers in the northern hemisphere, with over 50 meteors per hour at its peak, Aycock said. The KWEC, located at 592 NE K-156 in Cheyenne Bottoms, is an ideal location for viewing. “You want to find a place with as little light pollution as possible,” she said.
The annual meteor show viewing party has become an end-of-summer tradition at the Wetlands Center.
Fort Hays State University’s Science and Mathematics Education Institute will bring its inflatable planetarium for guaranteed star viewing.
Bring a lawn chair or blanket for more comfortable stargazing. For more information call the KWEC at its toll-free telephone number, 877-243-9268.