Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Get some 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite dust at South Florida Museum in Bradenton


A fragment of the 4.5 billion-year-old Campo del Cielo meteorite, nicknamed “FeNi” for its elements, has landed at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton.

And it's yours to touch.

Or take home.

The public is invited to visit the South Florida Museum on Friday (Oct. 5) from 5 to 9 p.m. to experience the object said to be the "oldest you will ever encounter."

The event is free.

The first 500 children will receive his or her own free vial of meteorite dust (see photo). Guests will be able to touch, feel and experience the meteorite.

The unique opportunity is designed to allow the community to experience the original materials that made up our solar system. This fragment will bring a piece of space to the Bradenton area community and be on permanent display at the museum.

At Friday's event the museum will also host a special-themed star talk, science demonstrations and cosmic-themed activities centered around the Campo del Cielo meteorite, which plummeted to earth sometime around the year 2500 BC.

The pieces rained down on an area now called Campo del Cielo – the Field of Heaven – a crater field in northern Argentina. More than 100 tons of the Campo del Cielo meteorite have been recovered, including the 138-pound fragment now found in Bradenton.

Details: 5-9 p.m. Oct. 5, The South Florida Museum, 201 10th St. W.,  Bradenton. Admission: Free. Information:  941-746-4131 or visit www.southfloridamuseum.org.

—Photo of Campo del Cielo dust provided by South Florida Museum.

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