NASA launched the James Webb Telescope into space on Dec. 25. To educate the public about it, Western Kentucky University’s Hardin Planetarium will host a Science Fun Day with activities for all ages.

The free event will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the planetarium at 1501 State St. and will feature information about the telescope, a trivia game, board games for children and paper crafts.

Chris Chandler, planetarium specialist at Hardin Planetarium, said it hosted a similar event in January after the telescope was launched into space.

“The Webb telescope is able to capture images that the Hubble telescope simply can’t see and takes some nice, pretty pictures,” he said, noting the Hubble telescope launched more than 30 years ago.

Now, Chandler said, the planetarium wants to give the public a chance to learn about the telescope in a way that is “fun but educational at the same time.”

Chandler said it’s a great event for parents who are looking for something for their children to do, and at the same time it can be a learning experience for the parents.

“Most parents want something educational that’s also free to occupy their kids for a few hours,” he said.

One of the activities will allow participants to make their own origami creations.

“Because the telescope was larger than the storage area they had for it, they had to figure out a way to fold it up and consulted with origami experts,” Chandler said.

To help make the event possible, WKU’s Physics and Astronomy Department will get assistance from the Ogden College of Science and Engineering and Kentucky Thermal Imaging.

“Telescopes see things in the same way as thermal imaging,” he said. “They (Kentucky Thermal Imaging) have worked with WKU many times before and will have a table set up at the event as well.”

The trivia game will test each player’s knowledge of the telescope. To be successful, Chandler said players should try out the activities first and then take the quiz.

Bookmarks, posters and stickers will be passed out initially as prizes to those competing in contests, but Chandler said they will eventually hand them out to all guests.

Chandler said he is hoping that this event will spark the public’s interest in the telescope.

“A lot of people don’t know anything about it,” he said. “We usually get kind of a self-selected group, but I’m hoping that others will also be eager to learn a little bit about it.”

Hardin Planetarium also offers free public presentations at 7 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and at 2 p.m. Sundays. The current show, “Lives of the Stars,” will run until Sept. 1.

– A full schedule of shows is available on the planetarium’s website at www.wku.edu/hardinplanetarium/.