DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer. Ever wonder what that phrase actually means and where it came from? It's a good bit of trivia to "Wow" your children and once again confirm your wisdom and omnipotence.

The term "Dog Days of Summer" is based on astronomy. In ancient cultures, pictures were drawn in the sky by connecting the stars. I'm glad we have dot-to-dots today, because I'm pretty lame at making a picture out of most of the stars. I usually end up with lots of squares and rectangles. So unless we are going to name a constellation after Sponge Bob, I'm pretty useless in the astronomy game.

The brightest of stars, Sirius (or dog star) is in the Canis Major (or big dog) constellation. During the summer months, Sirius rises and sets with the sun. The Romans believed that the heat from Sirius added to the heat from the Sun made for a stretch of hot and sultry weather.

Fast forward to today, when the stars are not in exactly the same place as in the days of the Romans. Today, the Dog Days of Summer occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. We don't have Sirius to thank for this, however, but the tilt of the Earth.

How can you make the Dog Days of Summer fun for your kids? Maria Mitchell Association offers many wonderful opportunities to make the skies come alive. Most Friday evenings the Loines Observatory, located on Milk Street Extension across from the cemetery, is open to provide "guided tours of the constellations and observations through telescopes." The fun begins at 9 p.m. and is $6 for children, $10 for adult non-members of Maria Mitchell Association, or half-price for members. Dr. Vladimir Strelnitski, MMA Director of Astronomy, is so interesting and knowledgeable that you will find you want to go back every week.

In addition to the Friday Night Star Watches, there are two programs for parent/child pairs that relate to the celestial beings. "Our Cosmic Neighborhood" on Tuesday, July 24 at 8:30 p.m. "investigates the planets of our solar system and rare visitors from other cosmic neighborhoods."

"The Celestial Zoo" on Tuesday, July 31 at 8:30 p.m. is a program devoted to those intriguing dot-to-dot puzzles in the sky. You and your child will "learn to identify stars and constellations and hear intriguing myths behind the animals in the celestial zoo." The cost for each of these parent/ child programs is $40 per nonmember pair and $30 per member pair. You can log onto Maria Mitchell's Web site at www.mmo.org to order tickets, or call them at 228-9198.

Once your child is thoroughly entrenched in the magic of the stars, help make a star mobile to hang over his bed. The supplies you will need for this craft are: either a round cardboard from a frozen pizza box or cardboard to cut into a circle, two sheets of black construction paper, cardstock paper in any color, white glue, paintbrush, glitter, scissors, heavy duty sewing needle (knitting darning needles work well), nylon fishing line, small four-holed button.

Cut out star shapes from the cardstock. Remember that stars come in many shapes and sizes, so use your imagination. Use the paintbrush to spread glue on one side of each star, and sprinkle glitter in one or various colors on each. When you have decorated one side, let the glue dry. Then turn them over and decorate the other side.

Use the round pizza cardboard to draw a circle on each of the black construction papers. Cut the two circles out and adhere them to both sides of the cardboard with glue.

Make three pencil marks equally spaced around the edge of the circle, about one inch from the edge. Cut a length of fishing line about two feet long. Thread the needle and tie a fat knot in the end. Poke the needle through one of the pencil marks, pulling the thread through to the knot. Take the button and poke the needle up through one hole in the button and down through another. Now poke the needle back down through another pencil mark on the circle. Unthread the needle and tie a fat knot in the end of the thread.

Now cut a length of thread three feet long and rethread the needle. Again, tie a fat knot in the end. Poke the needle up through one of the remaining pencil marks on the circle. Then, poke the needle up through one of the remaining holes in the button and then down through the last hole in the button. Unthread the needle and tie a loop in the end of the thread for hanging the mobile from the ceiling.

Make pencil marks on the bottom of the cardboard circle where you will be hanging your stars. Space them as evenly as possible.

Cut a length of fishing line and thread the needle. Tie a knot at the end, and insert the needle through the star and then through one of the marks on the circle. Adjust the length of the thread so the stars hang nicely and randomly, then cut the thread and tie a knot in the end. Do this for every star.

Now your children can hang their mobiles from the ceiling above their beds. On the nights when the fog is too thick, or they have to go to bed before the stars come out to play, they will have their own celestial circus in their

room! I