The first Planet Head Day at the University of Maine at Presque Isle was a success. The event combined a celebration of NASA with an awareness of Cancer. Participants either had their heads shaved or donned elastic swimming caps and had them painted as a planet.
There were more than 25 planet heads altogether, including four heads that were shaved for the occasion, in addition to Jeanie McGowan’s which was already bald because of her chemo treatments. Those that opted for elastic swim caps included UMPI President Don Zillman (Neptune). There were a surprising number of kids present, many of whom wanted to be either the Earth or Pluto. There were four planet painters, with others joining in. All of the planets were covered, plus Pluto and several moons.
The event is the inspiration of Jeanie McGowan, who is coordinator of Museum Outreach for the Northern Maine Museum of Science. Jeanie implemented a recently completed NASA IDEAS grant and continues to support the museum’s participation in education and public outreach for New Horizons, which is a spacecraft now en route to Pluto.
The Planet Head event formally celebrates the Feb. 17 New Horizons flyby of Jupiter. This gives the spacecraft a gravitational boost that increases its velocity by an additional 9,000 miles per hour. This date is also the day before Pluto’s 77th ‘birthday’ that celebrates its discovery in 1930.
The event also served as a fund-raiser for the Aroostook C.A.N.C.E.R. (Caring Area Neighbors for Cancer Education and Recovery) Support Group, which received all money raised through the sale of bathing caps for the event. The event ended with an open swim for planet heads in the university’s new Gentile Hall swimming pool.
“We are celebrating what scientific research has already given us in knowledge about the cosmos and remains to provide us about treatments for cancer,” said Prof. Kevin McCartney, director of the Northern Maine Museum of Science at the university.
The idea for the Planet Head project came to McGowan after she saw a news item on a group of pregnant women who painted their bellies for advertising. McGowan, who had just lost a head of long hair to her cancer chemo treatments, realized she could put her bald head to educational use. She has had it painted as Jupiter for New Horizons professional development workshops for teachers.
This first Planet Head Day was largely improvised and much was learned. McGowan and McCartney have already decided to celebrate this event each year on the weekend closest to Pluto’s birthday, at least until New Horizons reaches Pluto in 2015. The greater lead time for planning next year will allow organizers to publicize the event more widely and hopefully at least double the number of planet heads.
Next year McGowan and McCartney plan to try theatrical ‘bald wigs’ and experiment with non-toxic acrylic paints. Jim Stepp, founder of the Aroostook County Astronomy Club, asks if the event might be expanded next year to include a speaker on cosmology.
“Anything is possible,” saID McCartney.
