A bright October 21 afternoon welcomed visitors from Pasco and Warden for Día Familiar para la Ciencia, a multi-sponsor bilingual event at LIGO Hanford Observatory. The day's focus was astronomy. Tri-City Astronomy Club (TCAC) members pointed their solar-safe telescopes at our nearest star and invited guests to view sunspots and solar prominences. Images on display in the LIGO visitor area offered optical telescope views of the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. The movie Einstein's Messengers and tours the Observatory provided a glimpse into the growing field of gravitational wave astronomy.

Tour participants took advantage of the clear weather to view the scale of LIGO's 2.5-mile interferometer arms from a beam tube overpass near the vertex of the interferometer. LHO staff members Fred Raab and Gerardo Moreno then took their tour groups to the LHO control room for a look at the operation of these enormous detectors. LHO operator Cheryl Vorvick (below right) paused from her control room duties to explain the large data projections that dominate the front wall of the room

The afternoon's agenda provided plenty of time for attending to LIGO's interactive exhibits. These activities focus on the science that underpins LIGO; periodic motion, wave behavior, characteristics of light and the nature of gravity. Hands of all ages enjoyed science devices that ranged from the small (tops and gyroscopes) to very large (the thirty-foot "Giant Slinky). Another popular program item was a liquid nitrogen demonstration by LHO's Dale Ingram. Using a small sample from the site's generous supply of the ultracold fluid, Ingram quick-froze a variety of household items and levitated a tiny magnet over a chilled superconductive pellet.

Language interpretation made the event accessible to all who attended. LHO's Gerardo Moreno (below at left) navigated LIGO concepts and vocabulary in Spanish and English. Lourdes Melo of Pasco, shown spinning the bicycle wheel of science, has developed a Spanish-language version of the script for Einstein's Messengers. Lourdes transmitted her Spanish narration of the movie to audience members who wore headphones supplied by WSU GEAR UP

A number of collaborators joined in the planning and staging of the event. Several TCAC members offered their time, telescopes and expertise for solar viewing. WSU GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) worked with LIGO on publicity and provided the headphone system. Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities MESA (Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement) also assisted with publicity. The WSU Tri-Cities Department of Hispanic/Latino outreach supported transportation. New partners for the October activity were the Pasco School District's Parent Education Program, providing coordination for the participation of families from the Pasco area, and the School District's Transportation Services. Participation from Warden was facilitated by Warden's 21st Century Community Learning Center and by WSU GEAR UP.