I Heart Pluto Festival 2023
Flagstaff, AZ — February 18 - 20, 2023
2023-02-18 18:00:00
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Schedule

Full Schedule: I Heart Pluto 2023

Thursday, Feb 16
Feb. 16 at 6pm
Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona
Cheers to Pluto! Beer Unveiling and Astronomy on Tap

Enjoy a pre-Festival celebration at Mother Road Brewing Company, a local Flagstaff favorite! Mother Road will unveil its limited-edition beer, brewed exclusively for this year’s festival! Stick around for an Astronomy on Tap presentation and learn about Clyde Tombaugh’s handmade telescope, a precious historical artifact that will soon be on display in Lowell Observatory’s Rotunda Museum.

Astronomy on Tap: Clyde Tombaugh’s Extraordinary 9-inch Telescope

Presenters:
Alden Tombaugh, retired banker and son of Clyde Tombaugh
Kevin Schindler, Lowell Observatory Historian & Public Information Officer

Program Description:
In 1928, Clyde Tombaugh completed construction of his third telescope, a 9-inch reflector. He built this Frankenstein of telescopes from an array of materials from the family farm. The mounting includes parts from a cream separator, automobile axle, and farm equipment fly wheel, and the tube is made of material used in grain augers. Tombaugh also built a storm cellar that provided the still air necessary to test the quality of the instrument’s optics. The telescope is an important piece of astronomy history because it was drawings Tombaugh made with this instrument that led to him being hired at Lowell Observatory, where he would go in to discover Pluto.

Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona
Friday, Feb 17
Feb. 17 at 6pm
Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona
Pluto Pub Crawl

Explore Flagstaff’s finest pubs, bars, and brewhouses — in the shape of the Pluto symbol! After receiving a map of all participating destinations, you’ll be turned loose to enjoy historic downtown alongside fellow Pluto-lovers, and custom-made Pluto drinks and specials at all the stops. Along the way, you’ll find educators giving science talks, trivia, and more.

Check out our Pluto Pub Crawl page for the map, or look at any participating location:

1. Dark Sky Brewing
2. Hops on Birch
3. Rendezvous
4. Drinking Horn Meadery
5. Lumberyard Brewing Co
6. The Annex
7. Historic Barrel + Bottle Co
8. NiMarco’s Pizza
9. Mother Road Brewing Co
10. Flagstaff Brewing Co

Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona
Saturday, Feb 18
Festival Activities at Lowell
Lowell Observatory
10am - 10pm

Enjoy all-day festivities at Lowell Observatory!

BINGO Scavenger Hunt | All Day
Can you find five items in a row? Play our all-day scavenger hunt game to get in the running for fun prizes like stickers, Pluto toys, notebooks, and more. The more items you hunt down, the cooler prizes you are eligible to get!

Mother Road Brewing Co | 12pm – 6pm
Taste Mother Road’s delicious limited-edition beer, brewed exclusively for this year’s festival!

Drinking Horn Meadery | 12pm – 4pm
Enjoy some local mead!

Food Trucks:
Single Speed Coffee Roasters | 10am – Noon and 5pm – 8pm

Pluto Tours | 10:30am, Noon, 1:30pm, 3pm
Join Lowell Educators for our once a year, special Pluto tour! Follow in the footsteps of Clyde Tombaugh on the day of discovery, visit the less known relics of the search for planet X on Mars Hill, and learn what exactly it takes to find Pluto.

Pluto Activity Station | Noon – 4pm
Dry ice bubbles! Lowell educators will have a bubble-making kit and a bunch of dry ice at a booth. We’ll be making special bubbles kids can hold in their hands using dry ice.

Live Music by Simon Cunningham | 5pm – 7pm
Go to the visitors center and enjoy live music by local artist Simon Cunningham.

Henna Art | 4pm – 6pm
“Henna by Jenna” on site for fun henna art!

Facepainting | 4pm – 6pm
Facepainting by Radiant Art.

Cosmic Cart | 6:15pm
Join Lowell educators for a series of hands-on, family friendly activities exploring the most extreme, coldest environments in our solar system. Experience ice on fire, dry ice like you’ve never seen before, and liquid nitrogen so cold that it shatters living material.

Custom-Crafted Pluto Beer by Mother Road Brewing | More Information to Come

Lowell Observatory
VIP Tour
10am - Noon

Enjoy a star-studded VIP experience at the 2023 I Heart Pluto Festival! A VIP ticket grants single-person admission to all IHP activities at Lowell Observatory and the Orpheum Theater. VIP guests will also meet special guest Al Tombaugh, the son of Clyde Tombaugh!

The Lowell VIP Tour Schedule:
Check In at the Steele Visitors Center
10am: Tour of Lowell Observatory Archives
10:45am: The Latest News from Pluto and Arrokath, by Dr. Will Grundy
11:30am: Clyde Tombaugh’s Extraordinary 9-inch Telescope, by Al Tombaugh and Kevin Schindler
12:30pm: Dedication of the 9″ Tombaugh Telescope

The events conclude at 12:50pm.

Read more

Feb 18 at 12:30pm
The Rotunda at Lowell Observatory
Tombaugh Telescope Dedication

See the dedication of the Tombaugh Telescope, a 9-inch instrument that Clyde Tombaugh hand-assembled in 1928 from scraps found around the family’s farm in Burdette, Kansas. Tombaugh family members, local dignitaries, and others will participate in this event.

The Rotunda at Lowell Observatory
Feb 18 at 6—9pm
The Orpheum Theatre
Night of Discovery

NASA astronaut, aquanaut, and space artist Nicole Stott headlines an evening celebrating exploration and discovery. Stott creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflights and undersea adventures with her artwork to inspire people around the world.

Starting at 6pm, guests may enjoy a space art show by the International Association of Astronomical Artists, axe throwing courtesy of FlagTag, custom-crafted, Pluto-themed beer by Mother Road Brewing Company, and more. And don’t miss a free taste-testing of the new Starry lemon-lime soda by Pepsi.

Programming begins at 7pm. Lowell Observatory Historian Kevin Schindler will first relive Clyde Tombaugh’s day of discovering Pluto, 93 years ago on this very night. Then, Nicole Stott will share her inspirational story of exploring space.

After this program, Nicole Stott will sign copies of her book, Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission to Protect It. Copies of this book will be available for purchase at the Orpheum throughout the evening.

The Orpheum Theatre
Nicole Stott768px-Nicole_Stott_v2
Sunday, Feb 19
Festival Activities at Lowell
Lowell Observatory
10am - 10pm

Enjoy all-day festivities at Lowell Observatory!

BINGO Scavenger Hunt | All Day
Can you find five items in a row? Play our all-day scavenger hunt game to get in the running for fun prizes like stickers, Pluto toys, notebooks, and more. The more items you hunt down, the cooler prizes you are eligible to get!

Food Trucks:
Single Speed Coffee Roasters | 10am – Noon and 5pm – 8pm

Pluto Tours | 10:30am, Noon, 1:30pm, 3pm
Join Lowell Educators for our once a year, special Pluto tour! Follow in the footsteps of Clyde Tombaugh on the day of discovery, visit the less known relics of the search for planet X on Mars Hill, and learn what exactly it takes to find Pluto.

Pluto Activity Station | Noon – 4pm
We will use Clyde Tombaugh’s crow jokes as a lead-in to talking about flight and aerodynamics. We will be providing paper airplane making supplies along with a few variables (paperclip weights, folded wing tips) to guide participants through making their best, most aerodynamic airplane.

Live Music by Black Lemon | 1pm – 3pm
Go to the visitors center and enjoy live music by local band Black Lemon.

Henna Art | 4pm – 6pm
“Henna by Jenna” on site for fun henna art!

Facepainting | 4pm – 6pm
Facepainting by Radiant Art.

Cosmic Cart | 6:15pm
Join Lowell educators for a series of hands-on, family friendly activities exploring the most extreme, coldest environments in our solar system. Experience ice on fire, dry ice like you’ve never seen before, and liquid nitrogen so cold that it shatters living material.

Livestream: The Future of New Horizons: An Interview with Dr. Alan Stern| 7pm
An interview by Melissa Sevigny (Science Reporter at KNAU) with Dr. Alan Stern about the future of New Horizons. Q&A and chat questions encouraged.

Science Talk: The Latest News from Pluto and Arrokath, by Dr. Will Grundy| 8pm
Hear from Lowell’s Dr. Will Grundy about the latest updates scientists have on Pluto and Arrokath, the second celestial object that New Horizons flew by after its trip to Pluto.

Lowell Observatory
Monday, Feb 20
Festival Activities at Lowell
Lowell Observatory
10am - 10pm

Enjoy all-day festivities at Lowell Observatory!

BINGO Scavenger Hunt | All Day
Can you find five items in a row? Play our all-day scavenger hunt game to get in the running for fun prizes like stickers, Pluto toys, notebooks, and more. The more items you hunt down, the cooler prizes you are eligible to get!

Food Trucks:
Single Speed Coffee Roasters | 10am – Noon and 5pm – 8pm

Pluto Tours | 11am – 3pm
Get a special Pluto Tour of the Pluto Dome where Pluto was discovered, the Tombaugh Apartment (where Clyde Tombaugh lived when he discovered Pluto!) and the blink comparator, which was recently returned from the Smithsonian.

Pluto Activity Station | Noon – 4pm

Live Music by Eric Caroffino | 5pm – 7pm
Go to the visitors center and enjoy live music by local artist Eric Caroffino, where he will be playing for two hours (with some special Pluto-focused songs as well!).

Cosmic Cart | 6:15pm
Join Lowell educators for a series of hands-on, family friendly activities exploring the most extreme, coldest environments in our solar system. Experience ice on fire, dry ice like you’ve never seen before, and liquid nitrogen so cold that it shatters living material.

Livestream: New Horizons: NASA’s Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, by Alice Bowman| 7pm
Alice Bowman will speak about New Horizons’ continuing journey through the eyes of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory mission operations team and describe some of the technical, scientific, and personal challenges of piloting the spacecraft.

Science Talk: A Personal Journey: From Engineering Student to Discovering Pluto’s Atmosphere, with Dr. Amanda Bosh | 8pm
Dr. Amanda Bosh will share her journey as a woman in the sciences and her exciting studies of Pluto, including flights aboard an airborne observatory.

Lowell Observatory

A special thank you to all of our sponsors who helped support this incredible community-wide event. Thank you for supporting our mission and our city’s celebration of Pluto!

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I ♥ Pluto Festival
Flagstaff, AZ — February 18 - 20, 2023

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