Space exploration easy as drive to library

You're invited to dress up like your favorite Martian, an astronaut, a moon rock, a planet, star, or anything from outer space and join the SPACE: Dare to Dream Parade on Saturday.

Led by Toya Randall of the Grand Victoria Foundation, the parade kicks off at 2 p.m. from the Gail Borden Public Library lobby, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin.

The parade will last about an hour and prizes will be awarded.

The SPACE: Dare to Dream Due exhibits were made possible by a grant from the Grand Victoria Foundation.

The Evergreen Exhibitions display was created to ignite the desire for discovery, sparking imaginations and inspiring new generations of explorers to dream of the possibilities that lie ahead.

Created in collaboration with NASA and funded by General Motors and Lockheed Martin, this exhibit has inspired audiences at Pacific Science Center in Seattle, the Cincinnati Museum Center, and other major cities around the country.

The educational exhibit includes displays on Forest of Dreams, a multimedia presentation where the night sky inspires dreams. Galileo's studio will allow visitors to meet a costumed Galileo and look through Galileo's telescope.

The mammoth Saturn V display allows young and mature alike to experience the rumble and pulsing of a pre-launch rocket, simulating a view from hundreds of feet above the ground.

Ancient Cosmology invites people to step back in time to see how early civilizations viewed our place in the universe.

The multimedia Space Exploration and Mission to Moon timelines educate through graphics and video. A moon rock collected during a 1972 Apollo 16 mission is on display in the second floor adult area.

The library has been collaborating with Sci-Tech, the Adler Planetarium, NASA, Fermilab, Planetary Foundation, Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art and Orbit Elgin to provide supportive programming for all ages.

To register for any program or for more information, stop by the library, call (847) 429-4680, send an e-mail to mlytle@gailborden.info or visit online at gailborden.info.