Thursday Events

Thursday, September 17

Film Festival

7PM - Palace Theatre, 31 E. Main St., Frostburg

In Green Bank, West Virginia, modern technology goes quiet so a giant radio telescope can listen for signals from the universe. What might we hear in the silence?

Small Town Universe offers an intimate look at life in Green Bank, West Virginia, a remote community nestled within the National Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless technologies such as cell phones and Wi-Fi are heavily restricted to protect the signals received by the nearby Green Bank Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.

The film follows four residents whose lives are deeply connected to Green Bank and its remarkable telescope: a young woman pursuing her dream of becoming an astrophysicist, a retired engineer reflecting on his legacy, a longtime local preserving the community’s history, and a newcomer embracing a life largely off the grid.

With the future of federal funding, and potentially the telescope itself, uncertain, their stories reveal the profound connection between a small Appalachian community, groundbreaking science, and the unique Quiet Zone that makes it possible.

A post-film virtual discussion will feature Green Bank residents and scientists.