Outer space exploration at your fingertips

Investigating the evolution of the universe, dark matter, and the origins of the elements is no small task, but the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics (MIfA) in the College of Science and Engineering on the Twin Cities campus, takes them on.

In addition to conducting research, a large component of MIfA’s work is to provide education, especially through outreach efforts to the community, and the Minnesota State Fair is an excellent venue for it.

Mason Huberty is a researcher and rising third-year PhD student studying galaxies outside of Earth’s and how the universe changes over time. This year, he is working at MIfA's booth, located at the University of Minnesota Central building, where he and his colleagues will provide multiple hands-on learning opportunities for the public.

“At the State Fair, we encounter a lot of people who don’t typically get to interact with astrophysics,” says Huberty.

Space rocks, glowing elements, and bending light

One of the interactive activities at the booth is showcasing the diversity of space by allowing the public to compare real meteorites from space with Earth rocks.

Another highlights what telescope instruments can do. A visitor can look at tubes filled with energized elements that appear in different colors. Special glasses can separate the composite colors. A tube filled with hydrogen, for example, appears pinkish-purple as its basic color, but with the diffraction glasses, a visitor can see the individual red, teal, and purple colors.

“You can use telescope instruments to separate the colors of the light from planets, stars, or galaxies to identify the elements they are made of,” says Huberty. “This is important because you can then study the habitability of other worlds or even trace the creation of elements.”

The last activity features photos from the newest telescopes.These images show how background light strongly bends around a foreground object, such as a star or galaxy, if it has enough mass. Researchers use these photos to measure the expansion rate of the universe. They can also study the early universe or even use this bending of light to identify planets in other star systems.  

Reaching for the stars

MIfA's outreach goes well beyond the State Fair, so those who can’t make it to the booth can explore the universe throughout the year.

Anyone can look through the telescope in Tate Hall on Friday nights during the fall semester or attend public lectures twice per semester. MIfA also takes a telescope to state parks during the summer for its Universe in the Park program.

“It gets so dark in rural areas that you can see the whole galaxy at night,” says Huberty, “And with telescopes, you can see stars orbiting each other.”

Whether someone wants to understand how the sun causes the northern lights, or how humans discover the most distant objects in the universe, the MIfA is here to help.

Visit the MIfA booth at the State Fair on September 1, 2025, at the University of Minnesota Central building. Learn more about the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics.