Astrobiology Night at the Ballpark

June 10, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

This past weekend, minor-league baseball fans in Madison, Wisconsin got treated to an out of this world experience at the local Madison Mallards game. NAI’s Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Center (WARC) sponsored ‘Astrobiology Night’ at the ballpark, and delivered a fun and educational experience for the 6250 fans in attendance.

A rover delivered the ball to WARC researcher Eric Roden who threw out the first pitch, but that was just the beginning of the festivities. Kids and families played with extremophile trading cards and special frisbees with an astrobiology timeline printed on them. The fans also enjoyed demonstration tables where they learned about stromatolites, the original ‘X-philes,’ and Earth’s oldest rocks….and even made their own Banded Iron Formations. To top it all off, there was a kids vs. aliens tug-of-war!

The whole WARC team participated in this innovative educational event which was specifically designed to reach those members of the public who might not otherwise be exposed to science learning opportunities. Soon they’ll have us all shouting “take me out to the ball game!”