[315] MTSU's March 1 Star Party features Klumpe's 'Funky Fizix in Film'

For release:  Feb. 28, 2013

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

MTSU Physics and Astronomy contact: Dr. Eric Klumpe, 615-898-2483 or Eric.Klumpe@mtsu.edu

MURFREESBORO — One science fiction film, one animated movie and a popular television show now in syndication will be featured in Dr. Eric Klumpe’s First Friday Star Party on Friday, March 1.

Klumpe, a professor in the MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy, promises a fun time with his “Funky Fizix in Film: Having Fun at Hollywood’s Expense” Star Party starting at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held in Room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Hall. It is free and open to the public.

“What do ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,’ ‘Despicable Me’ and the TV series ‘Monk’ all have in common?” Klumpe said. “They all ‘bend’ the laws of physics and, as such, are this semester’s installment of ‘Funky Fizix in Film.’” Klumpe promises “a hilarious good time watching movies and talking physics.”

Weather permitting, the star party will continue when participants go outside and utilize telescopes set up by the observatory. People should dress warmly; temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper 30s.

To learn more about the spring Star Party series, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/physics/images/Star_Parties.pdf.

Free parking is available for attendees behind Wiser-Patten. A campus map can be found at http://tinyurl.com/MTParkingMap12-13.

To find the parking lot, turn off of East Main Street onto Baird Lane. Turn right onto Alumni Drive and then turn left onto Friendship Street next to the Science Building construction site. Before the road starts to curve, turn left into the parking lot. Handicap parking requires a state permit.

For more information, contact Klumpe at 615-898-2483, Dr. Chuck Higgins at 615-898-5946 or the physics and astronomy office at 615-898-2130.

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