Need to borrow a telescope? Go to the library!

Winter time is great star-gazing time and the constellation Orion is prominent in the night skies. The Bangor Public Library started circulating our new Orion Starblast Telescope the first week in December. The Orion Starblast is a 4.5 inch reflective telescope. It comes with instructions about using the telescope, a Nationaltelescope Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Constellations and a headlamp. Patrons with a Bangor Public Library card can check the telescope out for one week. In order to reserve or pick up the telescope, contact the Reference Desk in person or by phone 947-8336 x 126 or email (refdesk@bpl.lib.me.us).

In order to sign out the telescope, you must be at least 18 years old, have a library card in good standing (no fines or billed items) and a cardholder for at least six months. Pick up will be on Tuesdays and returns by closing time (8 P.M.) on Mondays. When you pick the telescope up, be prepared to take about 15 minutes to learn about how to use the telescope safely, how to carry it, and transport the telescope in a car. You will need to show a Driver’s License or another government-issued I.D. and sign a user agreement.

The Orion Starblast Telescope was a gift of Cornerstones of Science, a nonprofit organization that promotes science literacy through public libraries.

You can learn even more about and from the Bangor Public Library at the Maine Science Festival in March!