MAYS LANDING — A night sky filled with clouds may have obscured the view of the evening stars for the nearly 90 guests at the Annual Star Party at Atlantic Cape Community College’s Mays Landing campus on November 14, but the numerous fun educational sessions delighted and evoked shining smiles from all in attendance.
Dr. Francis Toriello, assistant professor, Physics & Chemistry, led a “Mission Control” session on the wonders of the universe. From the rooftop of the STEM building at the Mary M. & Augustino J. Sacchinelli Memorial Observatory Dr. Christopher Carbone, assistant professor, Biology, discussed the optical powers of the College’s three telescopes. Onlookers peered into the finder scope and eyepiece for a hopeful visual encounter with a celestial body. Professor Tim Cwik, chair, Aviation, showed off his impressive Air Traffic Control flight simulator, and some inspected specimens under a microscope as they explored biology.
In the STEM building lobby, members of the Civil Air Patrol provided guests with free hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, while a game of historical trivia tested the participants’ astronomical knowledge. Members of the DiBuono family – mother, Brittany; son, LJ, 19 and son, Bryce, 12 - from Egg Harbor City played along and discussed what brought them to this evening’s Star Party.
“I’m trying to be a sci-fi fantasy writer and I figured this would be some good experience, to get some good inspiration, get some good references and maybe learn a thing or two,” said LJ DiBuono.
“He (Bryce) really likes the solar system and the stars, and when he was younger he wanted to be an astronaut. So, I wanted to bring him out to be immerse in that a little bit,” said Brittany DiBuono, who said her and her sons were really interested in seeing the Air Traffic Control simulator.
Underneath the star-lit ceiling of the classroom and as Professor Toriello discussed constellations and the formation of supernovas, heart nebulas and supernova remnants, it was eight-year-old Gabriel Wiley who impressively knew the answers to many of the questions.
Parents David Wiley and Jessica Reyes of Northfield marveled at their son’s wealth of knowledge on the subject.
“He’s pretty much been that way since he started talking,” said Wiley.
“He’s very curious about the world, in general. I didn’t even know that he knew anything (about that) until he started answering the questions, but he likes to read a lot of books and he’s very interested in a lot of different subjects,” said Reyes.
Gabriel (far left) talked about his love of science and when asked if he would love to be an astronaut and go up into space one day, Gabriel replied “kind of, but I’m more into chemistry. I want to be a chemist. I kind of want to be everything, to be like the smartest in the world.”
“I love science. What I like about it is I just want know what’s up there and what have humans not explored. Other galaxies, the future,” said Gabriel, who was joined by his younger brother, Max, during the evening’s fun.
On the second floor there was fun for young and older alike. Parents and their small children engaged in fun arts and crafts. Volunteers adhered space-centric temporary tattoos of planets, stars, robots and rocket ships to the happy children’s little hands and arms. And those photographed in an Atlantic Cape rocket display captured the impression of blasting off into space.
Julian Sinnerard (right), a freshman Liberal Arts Education major from Cape May Court House, was excited for the rooftop viewing of the night sky, and friend Chris Tozer (left), a sophomore Environmental Science major from Woodbine, is really interested in astrology.
“I have my own telescope, a Celestron 8SE, and I go out pretty much anytime it’s clear and I get to see Saturn, Mars, the moon, double clusters, nebulas and all that,” said Tozer, who took classes at the Mays Landing campus during his freshman year and is now taking classes at the Cape May County campus that is just a 10-minute drive from his home.
View a photo gallery of this event on Flickr.
Visit www.atlanticcape.edu for more information on the many exciting academic pathways available at Atlantic Cape’s three campuses and online.
About Atlantic Cape Community College
Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 34 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with several four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree without having to leave home.
