The Science Museum of Western Virginia announces a special August astronomy program: “Curiosity Weekend” Saturday, Aug. 4, from 1 to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. The actual landing on Mars will occur Monday at 1:30 in the morning, so get the weekend scoop at the Science Museum, then catch the morning news on Aug. 6 to see how it all turned out.

Planet Mars will welcome its newest visitor from NASA, and the Science Museum of Western Virginia wants to connect you with the mission and the scientists who created it! For eight months, NASA’s Curiosity robot explorer has been rocketing its way to Mars. Come to the Science Museum at Tanglewood Mall to share special video about the landing supplied by the Planetary Society and by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, headquarters for the mission.

Get unique views and commentary on the final leg of Curiosity’s journey to the surface of the Red Planet. We’ll have activities for the kids, so bring the family to enjoy this fascinating event. We’ll have activities and things to see from opening to closing each day.

Curiosity is NASA’s biggest robot yet – about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. And unlike previous robots sent to explore geology, Curiosity is specifically hunting for conditions that could support LIFE! Send Curiosity on its way and have fun with other “planetary explorers”!

– Submitted by Carissa South, Director of Development, Science Museum of Western Virginia