BY KAREN BOSSICK
A new film about the unearthly wonders of our nearest national monument will be shown at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20, at the Hailey Public Library.
“Craters of the Moon: The Movie,” a 20-minute film now being used in the park’s visitor center, will focus on Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.
The lava landscape there is named for its resemblance to the lunar surface and has been a venue for space science research. It is located off U.S. Highway 20 between Carey and Arco
The film will be presented by Ted Stout, chief of interpretation and education at Craters. Stout will also preview this summer’s events, which includes a celebration of the moon landing and the subsequent visit by Apollo astronauts to Craters of the Moon.
The Moonfest celebration is set for July 20—20 years to the date Apollo 11 landed on the moon and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took a short but very famous walk.
A month later several astronauts associated with the Apollo 14 mission, including Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell, visited Craters to learn the basics of volcanic geology in preparation for their lunar mission. The idea: To know which rock samples were most valuable to bring back.
Craters has continued to be an important venue for space science research with scientists using the landscape as a stand-in for Mars
Moonfest will launch at 9:30 a.m. July 20 with Hailey author Julie Weston offering a discussion of her new mystery novel “Moonscape,” which she set at Craters of the Moon and the Wood River Valley.
Author Roger Boes will discuss his new book about Craters called “The Flows” at 11 a.m. and there will be a presentation of the PBS film “Chasing the Moon” about the Apollo 11 moon landing at 1 p.m.
Astronaut John Phillips will tell about his experiences on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station at 3 p.m. And there will be STEM activities for youth at 5 p.m.
Moonfest will continue from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at the Lava Flow Campground Amphitheater with ranger-led activities, the other-worldly music of Boise band Magentto, another presentation by Astronaut John Phillips and an opportunity to look at the moon via telescope from Craters of the Moon.
Thursday’s presentation at the Hailey Library is part of the library’s A Universe of Stories Initiative. The program features scientific fiction and nonfiction books and films celebrating the 50th’ anniversary of the moon landing.
“It’s amazing to realize how far we’ve come in terms of exploring our solar system in the past 50 years, said LeAnn Gelskey, the library’s executive director. “And to think that the astronauts trained for their mission at Craters of the Moon.”