I grew up in the Space Race era, when going to the moon was cool.

I also grew up listening to American Top 40 every weekend, and Casey Kasem always told me to keep reaching for the stars.

At the risk of turning into “Old Man Yells at Cloud” I’ll say that kids these days don’t seem to have the same fascination with outer space.

Perhaps that’s because the Space Race has turned into a Billionaires Ego Trip.

But the Cincinnati Public Library is trying to get kids’ heads in the clouds again. Check out this excerpt from an article by Emily DeLetter in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County have partnered with Dean Regas, an astronomer with the Cincinnati Observatory, to offer telescopes for free to library patrons. 

The library has five Orion StarBlast 4.5-inch astronomical telescopes available for checkout at branches around the city. Each telescope can be reserved for 21 days, and comes with two eye pieces, an Orion EZ Finder II Reflex Sight, a star chart and two of  Regas’ books—”100 Things to See in the Night Sky” and “Facts from Space!”— to guide viewers through their star-viewing experience.

I think it’s really cool that the library is doing this. Most kids — and adults — spend way too much time with their heads down, staring at their phones. Looking up can reveal whole new worlds – literally and figuratively.

Speaking of telescopes, one plays a prominent role in an excellent short story by John Young, who lives in Cincinnati.

From John Young’s “A Membrook Man”

The story appears in his book Fire in the Field and Other Stories, which is a collection of 16 of his short stories, all of which are thoroughly engaging. Highly recommended – check it out… and maybe check out a telescope while you’re at it.