OBSERVATORY HOLDS OPEN HOUSE
While some scientists keep an eye on the skies to see how it affects our planet, other observatories look closer to home to find the answers to earth’s mysteries. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Rockland County’s village of Palisades was filled with visitors of all ages recently. Celebrating its 75th year, the sprawling campus and its many buildings housing scientific studies of the planet and its oceans gave the public an opportunity to learn about our changing world. The Observatory, now Columbia University’s Climate School, studies the changing nature of the planet as well as what goes on below it.
More than 1,000 visitors were in attendance the last weekend of autumn to view its many exhibits and give the public an opportunity to talk to scientists who teach there, as well as students who are studying to be the next generation of earth-science trackers. Exhibits included several hands-on opportunities for children to learn about the changing nature of the planet. Visitors from nine months old to 90 were in attendance for the once-a-year open house. “It was great to be back and visit,” said 94-year-old Martha Godwin of Chestnut Ridge, New York, who visited the campus on a tour with her former employer, Lederle (now Pfizer), several years ago. “It’s an amazing place and it’s wonderful that it opens its doors once a year to let the public visit to learn how our planet is constantly changing.”