BY SANDRA CARR

SPECIAL TO THE BEACON

Visitors can discover art and science for free at Stetson University’s Gillespie Museum and at the university’s Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center during Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Saturday, Sept. 18. All admissions are free.

The Gillespie Museum, Stetson’s earth and environmental science museum, will be providing young scientists with an opportunity to learn about rock fragments from outer space that reveal clues about the sun and planets during “Science Saturday: Meet Our Meteorites” from 10 a.m. to noon.

Visitors will have an opportunity to view 15 meteorites and impactites, including a 56-pound nickel-and-iron specimen, which was purchased through a Sotheby’s auction in 1987. The meteorite was originally found in South Africa and has been polished to reveal the Widmanstätten patterns, also known as Thomson structures, which are long, nickel-iron crystals that are found in the octahedrite-iron meteorites.

Children under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Masks are required. The Gillespie Museum has limited capacity. To ensure social distancing, the museum is requesting visitors make a reservation by calling 386-822-7330, or emailing to gillespiemuseum@stetson.edu.

The Hand Art Center will be providing curated tours of the “Oscar Bluemner: My Finest Design” and “(un)Peopled: A Sense of Place” exhibits from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required.

The “Oscar Bluemner: My Finest Design” exhibition includes more than 15 of Bluemner’s architectural drawings and paintings, and explores the modern artist’s architecture career and his transition to painting.

The “(un)Peopled: A Sense of Place” photography display has more than 20 black-and-white and color images by Matt Roberts, M.F.A., associate professor of digital arts at Stetson, Cristina Brandi, Brandon Narsing, Justin Nolan and Melodi Roberts.

The Hand Art Center is at 139 E. Michigan Ave., while the Gillespie Museum is at 234 E. Michigan Ave