by Paul Caccamise
Daily Lobo
Carbone, a romantic carbon atom, was
incredibly excited about joining a carbon-based
protein strand.
"Isn't life beautiful?" said the computer
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animated character, who co-starred in
"Molecularium: Riding Snowflakes."
"Molecularium," a UNM-sponsored
show at the LodeStar Astronomy Center, is
a musical adventure about the inner space
of atoms and molecules - in other words,
the universe at a nanoscale.
About 150 fourth-graders packed into
the planetarium Thursday to see the
show.
Vincent Ascoli, floor and presentations
supervisor at LodeStar, said the show has
been received well.
"Kids are learning a lot," he said.
"They're remembering what they are being
taught about atoms and molecules and
having a lot of fun."
Ascoli said he attributes the knowledge
retention to the songs, rhymes and other
mnemonics.
Fourth-graders Amanda Hampton, Cody
Bennett and Amanda Monta§o agreed the
show was good and said Carbone was the
most interesting atom.
Tiffany Hayes, a staff member at Lode-
Star, said the show is geared more toward
children.
"It's very good for kids," Hayes said.
"It's a little bit harder for adults to watch,but the kids love it."
The staff at the planetarium
knew the show would be a deviation
from what people are used
to, she said.
"People here at the planetarium,
they want to see stars, and
now we only have one star show,"
she said, "It's been a bit of an adjustment."
The planetarium's lease on
its last star show ended, and it
was time for something new, she
said.
However, "Molecularium" is
cute and energetic, she said.
"But it's very educational,"
Hayes said. "It does teach you a
lot about atoms."
Ascoli agreed.
"We had a unique opportunity
to get 'Molecularium,'" Ascoli
said. "It was screened at our
DomeFest last summer, which is
our big full-blown animation festival."
He said "Molecularium" won
an award at the international
film festival. The judges were all
known filmmakers who practice
within the giant dome medium.
"We're still one of the few places
in the world that's equipped to
project ('Molecularium') the right
way," he said. "It's great because
it connects inner space with outer
space. It talks about everything
made of molecules, so it still has
a very strong astronomy connection
and it also teaches these important
concepts to the students
that are coming here."
Ascoli said young students are
at least 50 percent of the Lode-
Star's paying audience. Many of
the presentations are chosen to
fulfill elementary students' academic
requirements.
Sandia National Laboratories,
a LodeStar sponsor, created the
introduction.
Ascoli said the next movie
at the center will be produced
through LodeStar.
"UNM, animators and local
New Mexicans are adapting
a book by Gerald McDermott
called Arrow to the Sun," he
said, "It's an award-winning
children's book."
