Village Squire, 1980-09, Page 28The London planetarium offers students
a chance to see the constellations close
up.
(London Children's Regional Museum
Come see the stars at
London's kids' museum
The air is still; the stars are bright.
You lean back and spot the North Star,
the Big Dipper. A perfect summer
night? No - a portable planetarium at
the London Regional Children's Mus-
eum (LRCM).
The $4,000.00 planetarium, pur-
chased with funds donated by The May
Court Club of London and matched with
a Wintario grant. arrives in a package
about the size of a duffel bag. You need
only five minutes and a fan to inflate the
opaque dome, five metres in diameter.
Specators crawl in through a tunnel
and sit on a carpeted floor to watch the
star show. Museum staff say the show's
portability makes it a valuable com-
munity resource, conceivably available
for use at locations other than the
Museum.
The planetarium is one of many
unique resources the Museum offers its
visitors. The Children's Museum is not
a traditional "look but don't touch"
gallery. but rather a place where
touching, exploring and discovering is
the focus of all exhibits. Past themes
such as What If It Were Me,
Grandmother's Time and Ancient Egypt
have given children a chance to
encounter the lifestyles of their peers.
their ancestors and of other times and
places.
This summer, the Museum features
not only the Planetarium, but a Flight
theme, where one can discover how
things fly by making origami birds,
putting together puzzles, or sitting in a
real jet cockpit.
The LRCM is Canada's first Child-
ren's Museum and is worth a visit.
Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Saturday, at 379
Dundas Street, London Towers, Lon-
don.
The Grand Central Hotel, built
in 1847, was for decades a
welcoming place to spend the
night. Today it is a group of
three connecting shops. What
was once the lane for horses &
buggies to reach the stable at
the back is now a charming
CARD & CANDLE SHOP. The
original bar is now the LADIES
WEAR with its handcraft
section. Browse on into the
GIFT SHOP, once the dining
room, where full use has been
made of the charm of this old
building. Many of the original
antiques are used to display
imports from around the world.
(-MARSHALLS
.fsr mays
50- 152 UEC^. ST.
GRAND CEN
L HOTEL
flARSHfLL'S of ST. flHRYS
"WHERE THE UNUSUAL IS USUAL"
GIFT SHOP LADIES WEAR CARD SHOP
150 QUEEN ST.
"DO COME VISIT US SOON"
284-3070
PG. 28 VILLAGE SQUIRE/SEPTEMBER 1980