Community news

Carson City

Observatory extends hours to see Mars

The "Red Planet" Mars will be in prime position for viewing at the Jack C. Davis Observatory over the next week. Visitors are invited to the observatory at Western Nevada Community College on Saturday and Nov. 5, to view Mars and the night sky. Several telescopes will be available for public use, and evening hours will be extended to accommodate visitors.

Mars will be at its closest position to Earth, and the most ideal time to view is this Saturday evening. For the very best look at Mars, visitors should arrive after 8:30 p.m.

For directions to the observatory, visit the Western Nevada Community College Web site at www.wncc.edu/location/bldgs/MapCarsonCampus.pdf. Call 445-4412.

Silver Strike holds bowling event for Halloween

Silver Strike Lanes in Gardnerville will hold a bowling event for Halloween, beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday.

You will receive a family bowling special charge of $1.50 per game and free shoe rental if you come in costume. No full face masks are allowed. There will be prizes for the best costumes.

Live music will be offered in the Piggy's Sports Bar. ID is required. For information call 265-5454.

Free admission Saturday to state museum

The Nevada State Museum in Carson City will have free admission to all its exhibits Saturday in honor of Nevada Day. The museum's current changing exhibit, "Art and the Animal." is included.

"Art and the Animal" is a display organized by the Society of Animal Artists Inc.. It brings together 102 world-renowned painters and sculptors, including Laney the cover artist, Robert Bateman, John Banovich, Carel P. Brest van Kempen, Janet Heaton, David Rankin, John Seerey-Lester and many more.

Visitors can also take a walk through time at the museum. Exhibits highlight Nevada history and the former Carson City Mint building, where coins were minted from 1870 to 1893. On display is the formidable Coin Press No. 1. The "Nevada's Changing Earth" exhibit explores geologic history from 1,750 million years ago to 40 million years ago. The story is told through the use of original illustrations together with rock specimens and field photographs, as well as a walk-through Devonian Sea. The museum also features America's largest exhibited Imperial mammoth, found in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, reconstructed in his death scene fight for life in a small, mud-glazed water hole. Nevada's American Indian heritage unfolds in the "Under One Sky" exhibit. The museum is at 600 N. Carson St., Call 687-4810.