OAKLAND -- The Chabot Space & Science Center recently brought an informal science and cultural event to Lincoln Elementary School in Oakland's Chinatown.

High school students from the center's Galaxy Explorer program with high school students from Hong Kong put on a digital astronomy show for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. The April 2 event was part of the Digital Skies Partnership between Chabot and the Hong Kong Space Museum.

"It's great to see the work we're doing with informal science education crossing international boundaries," said Chabot CEO Alexander Zwissler, who emceed part of the event. "Today is a great example of our local youth being inspired and engaged through the universal language of science and space education."

Lincoln Elementary School Principal John Melvin Jr. said his students were enjoying the interaction with the science students, who spoke directly with each class throughout afternoon. Talking with high school students, the younger students realized that it's not all fun and games, but people have careers in astronomy and the sciences, Melvin said. About 350 elementary school students saw the show.

On the ceiling of an inflatable dome, the high school students projected images of Earth, the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station, sharing facts about outer space and astronomy. Tayeb Zaidi, a student from Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, said the International Space

The event and partnership between Chabot and the Hong Kong Space Museum is funded by the American Alliance of Museums and the U.S. State Department. Heather L. Berry, manager of International Programs at the American Alliance of Museums, visited from Washington, D.C., to see the kind of impact the program is having in the community.

"Chabot is really the epitome of the great work museums are doing in their communities," Berry said.

Through the partnership, students are learning not only about science, but about another culture. The explorers, including Oakland resident Jelani Newsome-Noble, have a chance this summer to learn about eastern culture when they travel to Hong Kong.

Newsome-Noble is a senior at Bentley Upper School in Lafayette, and will pursue interests in astronomy, psychology and biology at DePaul University in Chicago.

Chan Ki-hung, curator of the Hong Kong Space Museum, said the program is the world's first of its kind. Ki-hung said that the students will be able to compare the space exploration programs of China and the United States. A NASA grant covered the equipment, computers, dome, software and training for the ongoing event.

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Oakland: Chabot brings astronomy show to Lincoln Elementary