Halloween, Día de los Muertos, Samhain, and All That!
Halloween Moon. Credit: courtesy of Gerhard from Pixabay.
Halloween, Día de los Muertos, Samhain, and All That!
Sunday, October 23rd, 2022
2:00–4:00 PM EDT
Arlington Mill Community Center
free, in person event

Join the Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium to celebrate the fall holidays! Come in costume for a fun afternoon of entertaining and educational “treats”! In keeping with the lengthening nights and spooky skies, we'll be exploring the reasons for the seasons, the changing phases of the Moon, and how people using the sky to monitor the passing of the year.

Jim Thorne of the “Space Quest with Dr. Jim” TV show will start the event off with some of his popular music.

Astronomer Jennifer Lynn Bartlett will present a talk at 2:30 pm about the astronomical origins of Halloween and other traditional holidays of the season.

You’ll even have an opportunity to create a model of the phases of the Moon using Oreo cookies!

Dr. Bartlett is a professional astronomer and the Kinnear Chair of Physics at the United States Naval Academy. She is the author of Solar System: Between Fire and Ice. Previously, she computed practical astronomical phenomena, including equinoxes, solstices, and lunar phases. She also tirelessly promotes the teaching and practice of traditional celestial navigation, which is the fine art of getting from here to there guided by the stars. Having grown up in Arlington, Dr. Bartlett remembers trick-or-treating far and wide by moonlight.

No reservations are required for this free, in-person event. However, we encourage you to renew or join the Friends to support family science events like this one.

The Arlington Mill Community Center is located at 909 S Dinwiddie St, Arlington, VA 22204.