Should you be an astronaut?

Going to infinity and beyond isn’t just for Buzz Lightyear. IU offers plenty of opportunities to channel your inner space cadet.

When the weather warms up, spend your nights under the stars. In the spring, the Kirkwood Observatory is open to the public on Wednesday nights. Go online and order some of your favorite space-age foods from childhood — freeze-dried ice cream and Tang are available on Amazon.

Or get involved with the IU Astronomy Club. Every Tuesday night at 7:30, club members meet in Swain West to share their passion for space. Senior Jen Kulow, club president, says each semester, the club hosts a Star Party at a local campground, complete with telescopes, tents, and campfires. This year the club also started an event called Sidewalk Astronomy — they set up telescopes on Kirkwood, near the Monroe County Public Library, and encouraged people walking by to stop and take a look.

“This year we also have intramural teams,” Kulow says. “We had a fl ag football team called the Galactic Cannibals. And our soccer and softball teams, the InfraRed Cars and the InfraRed Sox, are in training.”

Take:
AST-A 100 The Solar System
AERO-A 202 The Development of Air Power II
CMLT-C 216 Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Western Tradition

Watch: Apollo 13, Planet of the Apes, 2001: A Space Odyssey

You’re going too far if ...
1. You pull a Lance Bass and actually try to pay to go into space.
2. You say “Houston, we have a problem,” whenever there’s an issue.
3. You’re saving up to spend SB ‘12 in Huntsville, Ala., at NASA Space Camp.