Space station to make long-distance call to Elgin library
In 2005, when the Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin unveiled a fantastic dinosaur exhibit, Denise Raleigh, the library's director of marketing, development and communication, asked me to write about it. But I didn't.
Raleigh asked me repeatedly this spring and summer to write about the library's even more impressive "Space: Dare to Dream" exhibit. But I didn't.
Now, Raleigh has gone over my head -- 250 miles or so, straight up.
And I'm writing about it.
"You can't believe this. For the first time ever, kids in a public library are going to be talking to astronauts in the International Space Station," gushes Raleigh as she leads me through the library's museum-like interactive space exhibit. The kids, selected from a group who submitted questions in advance, were notified Wednesday.
But sometime between Sept. 4 and 7, as the International Space Station passes 250 miles above Elgin at a speed of more than 17,500 miles per hour, NASA astronaut Clay Anderson will hop on a ham radio, connect to the library and answer kids' questions. The exchange will stream live on the Internet, on ham radio, and with the help of Elgin Academy, maybe on local cable TV.
"It's a real big deal," says ham radio operator Greg Braun, an ARISS mentor from Geneva with the call sign of N9CHA. Braun and fellow Fox River Radio League officer John Spasojevich of Montgomery will install antennas on the library roof.
Since the space station orbits the earth in 90 minutes, the connection will be open for only 10 minutes or less. But the resulting conversation should bring even more people to the library, which credits the space exhibit with attracting a record 72,000 visitors in July.
"We're always trying to reach out and grab the people who haven't seen us yet," says Carole Medal, the library's executive director, who considers the facility as more of a community center than a book warehouse.
"If we can get you in here, we can get you reading," explains Raleigh, who notes that circulation is up 15 percent since the space exhibit opened. Use of space-related items is up 40 percent.
"Man, this is great, because I used to go to the Gail Borden Library when I was a kid growing up there," says retired Air Force Lt. Col. Hal Getzelman, a 1972 graduate of Elgin High School, who now coordinates communications for NASA with the space station crew. When he heard about the space exhibit, he sent the library an e-mail reading, "Hey, I'm this kid that grew up in Elgin, and now I work at the space center and I think it's great what you are doing. If I can help out, let me know."
From his post in the Johnson Space Center, Getzelman plans to "do the warm-up for the show," he says. "When the space station comes over the horizon … I'll shut up."
The hope is that the current space events will inspire other library patrons to dream big.
"I remember going down to the library and checking books out about model airplanes … flying models with small gas engines," Getzelman says of his childhood.
"We're getting a real big boost with this exhibit," says Kate Burlette, director of circulation services. Even before next month's space chat, the "Dare to Dream" exhibit (which includes a Spanish language audio guide) has helped add more than 2,000 new library card-holders.
The once-in-a-lifetime space hook-up has library patrons and employees feeling giddy.
"It's thrilling," Raleigh says. "It just makes you feel good."
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To get in a space mood: From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, the library hosts a free Educators' Night for teachers, school administrators and parent-teacher organization members who want to add hands-on space and science curriculums to their classrooms. Experts from Fermilab, ARISS, SciTech Children's Museum and other sources will teach workshops and answer questions. A buffet starts at 6 p.m. For details, visit www.gailborden.info or phone 847 742-2411.