School Groups and Programming
Scheduling a Visit
Teachers and schools in the Williamsville Central School District can make planetarium field trip requests through WITS.
For schools that are not affiliated with the Williamsville Central School District, there is a flat fee of $55 per show. The minimum group size for planetarium shows is 20 students and teachers. Please note that this fee is waived for non-profit parochial and private schools within the WCSD.
All non-school related community programs are coordinated through Community Education. Individuals and groups can review available programming here. Groups that are not part of Williamsville Central School District must forward a Certificate of Liability Insurance to the Space Lab Planetarium prior to the visit.
Planetarium Programming
If you have questions about a specific program, call the planetarium at 716-626-8523
Pre-K / Kindergarten
The Halloween Show
Length: 40 Minutes
Join Holly, a student witch, and Jack, a pumpkin comedian, as they explore Halloween history and traditions, the fall and winter constellations and the phases of the Moon. Everyone participates by helping Holly with her spells and singing along.
The Solar System Show
Length: 25 Minutes
Looking to explore way-out worlds? The blistering Sun? Mysterious moons? Crazy comets and amazing asteroids? Then join our gang of smart, wacky reporters and rambunctious planets in the Planetarium Channel’s new extravaganza, The Solar System Show! We promise planet fun for everyone. Warning: Audience participation may be required.
One World, One Sky
Length: 25 Minutes
Explore the night sky with your favorite friends from Sesame Street in One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure. Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo, and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take you on a journey of discovery to learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun, and the Moon.
Space Shapes
Length: 9 Minutes
A show for early learners to teach them about the planetarium classroom and learn about shapes in space.
Wilbear's Adventure
Length: 35 Minutes
Wilbear’s Adventure is a new planetarium show for children. The story is about a young teddy bear who wants to fly. Follow WilBear’s discovery of flight in this delightful adventure. Wilbear’s grandpa uses demonstrations exploring the nature of flight to build up to the story of the Wright Brother’s historic first airplane experience. Grandpa bear captivates audiences with tales of inventions over time from kites and gliders to today’s jet planes. Young Wilbear’s dream comes true when he gets to fly in a real airplane just like his hero Wilbur Wright. The program includes some mythology, history of flight, and a few winged constellations. Join Wilbear on an adventure among the clouds as he learns about and experiences powered flight!
Wilbear’s Adventure was written and produced by Sharon Shanks from the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. She wanted a children’s program to coincide with the Wright Brothers and the 100th anniversary of flight. Her 15 year-old daughter Jessie made the drawings.
The Wonderful Sky
Length: 40 Minutes
The Wonderful Sky is designed as the introductory visit to the Planetarium. We begin by painting the dome with our magic paintbrush and then "go outside" to play games with the sky. After we learn about the Earth’s rotation and learn what causes day and night, then we go for a trip to the country to play games with the night sky. Students learn the names of the moon phases and watch it turn from night to day to night on the moon.
Grades 1-2
Constellations: Adventures Connecting Earth & Sky
Length: 25 Minutes
Connect to the sky above in this great new planetarium show. Explore star, nebula and moon constellations! Travel the world to discover dazzling stories from the stars of the big dipper. Oh, and learn what "pareidolia" means and how to pronounce it!
The Great Space Treasure Hunt
Length: 40 Minutes
On a planet far, far away, we find our alien friend Bleamer fast asleep. When he finally wakes up, he shows us a special treasure map. After making sure we have everything we need to travel in space — spaceship, air, food, water and plenty of band-aids — we countdown and blast-off! The map leads us to the Milky Way Galaxy where we journey past constellations, nebulae and a rather lonely Queen Cassiopeia who tells her story. After exploring the Sun, planets and some moons of the solar system, we discover our blue and white "treasure." Before Bleamer heads back to Snoozling, he realizes that much of what we've seen on our treasure hunt is right there in Earth's night sky.
The participatory-style script encourages children to answer Bleamer’s questions throughout the show as well as clap and sing along during the two songs "The Great Space Treasure Hunt" and "The Earth Song."
The Halloween Show
Length: 40 Minutes
Join Holly, a student witch, and Jack, a pumpkin comedian, as they explore Halloween history and traditions, the fall and winter constellations and the phases of the Moon. Everyone participates by helping Holly and singing along.
The Moon
Length: 45 Minutes
The Moon is a live and interactive program designed for early elementary (K-2) learners. It is designed to teach children that the moon has properties, location, and movements that can be observed and described. These movements occur in patterns. The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun. The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month. Students learn that we can observe craters, maria, mountains and the changing shapes of the moon.
The Weather
Length: 45 Minutes
The Weather is an interactive modular planetarium program covering the national science standards for weather – grades K-2.
Module One: Using the Senses to Observe Weather and Identifying Cloud Types – Module one will help connect children to the weather around them by encouraging them to use their senses to observe weather. It will also introduce children to the basic cloud types and how they are associated with specific weather conditions. The idea of weather forecasting will be presented in this module as well.
Module Two: Describing and Measuring the Weather – This module will introduce children to the basic weather terms that are used to describe weather conditions. It will also help children identify the appropriate instruments that are used for studying and measuring weather. Module Three: Identifying the Basic Features of the Water Cycle – The final module will present the major steps of the water cycle. To help with this concept, children will follow a drop of water through the entire water cycle.
Our Place in Space
Length: 35 Minutes
Explore the cause of day and night, the importance of our star the sun, the beauty of the constellations, and the variety of objects that make up the universe when a host of endangered animals solve a crossword puzzle and discover that the planetarium is a fun place to learn about space.
Secret of the Cardboard Rocket
Length: 40 minutes
Come on an adventure as two children learn about the solar system when they spend the night exploring with their astronomy book by their sides!
Grades 3-4
Cosmic Colors
Length: 35 Minutes
Cosmic Colors: An Adventure Along the Spectrum will take you on a wondrous journey through the world of color and beyond! Discover why the sky is blue, why Mars is red, and the reason why many things are the color that they are. Tour the interior of a plant leaf, voyage through a human eye, then step into the invisible universe as you investigate x-rays by taking on a monstrous black hole. Explore the world of infrared in a roaring fire, and even discover what may have been the actual color of a dinosaur. Explore the amazing rainbow of cosmic light through Cosmic Colors, an original production of the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium in cooperation with the Great Lakes Planetarium Association.
Destination Solar System
Length: 30 Minutes
The year is 2096. Space tourism is booming, and you've signed up for a quick trip around the Solar System with Space Express Tours! Space Express Tours?-the first tour company in deep space?-offers a variety of adventures including its most popular trip, Destination Solar System. This out-of-this world jaunt takes place on board the fastest ship in the Space Express fleet and is the only vehicle equipped with Space Jump? technology. In Destination Solar System, passengers will travel hundreds of millions of miles in just seconds on an adventure-filled tour led by Jesse, an enthusiastic, knowledgeable-but inexperienced-tour guide, and Max, a highly advanced, fully-integrated onboard computer. Tours of the hottest hot spots and the coldest, stormiest and most spectacular sights in the Solar System await curious space explorers of all ages.
Defying Gravity, It is Rocket Science!
Length: 24 Minutes
Meet meet Apollo Aurora, host of the Planetarium Channel’s universally loved gravity news source, Defying Gravity, It Is Rocket Science! With special robot correspondents Apple 1-6-8-6 and EGR-1, Apollo and her team will explore rocket power, gravity on other planets, monstrous black holes and even what keeps us grounded on Earth! Tune into this brand new planetarium show and uncover the mysteries of gravity.
Enlightening Lightning
Length: 35 Minutes
The goal of the show is to teach lightning safety and lightning facts in an immersive environment. Through the use of video, an animated character, and a meteorologist, explore the fascination and excitement of Nature's Light Show! Understand the Science and learn the safety rules!
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Length: 35 Minutes
This sky show, based on the book "Follow the Drinking Gourd" by Jeanette Winter, is a story of a family escaping from the South during the era of slavery in the U.S.A. The students may "sing along" with a song that explains how to use the gourd (Big Dipper) to travel north to the Underground Railroad and on to freedom.
Heroes of the Night Sky
Have you ever wondered what the stories were behind the constellations? Come and see this show, made by former students at Williamsville North, and discover the myths behind Hercules, Perseus, and Orion.
The Incredible Critters Show
Length: 35 minutes
Gail the guide is heading off to track down some invertebrate pals — those little critters with no backbone. Where do we find them? In our houses, outside in the dirt or grass, under rocks, in a flowerbed, on a tree or in a pond. With a magnifying glass, we take a close look at simple creatures like worms and snails and see how they differ from the more complex ants and spiders. Gail explains metamorphosis as well as who eats what (or who?) in the invertebrate world. Finally we're taught the benefits of having these incredible animals around and we all get bopping in our seats to the tune of the "Critter Jitter."
Legends of the Night Sky
Length: Each 20 Minutes
Two shows that use Greek mythology (and lasers!) to inspire an interest in astronomy. This Planetarium features the stories of Orion and of Perseus and Andromeda. Come learn about constellations and astronomy through Legends of the Night Sky!
Lights Out! Eclipses: Whys, Wonders and Wows!
Length: Approx. 25 Minutes
Sudden darkness during a sunny day? The moon turning deep red? Explore fascinating stories about the rare and awesome eclipses, and find out when an eclipse is coming next to a sky near you!
The Little Star That Could
Length: 36 Minutes
Little Star, an average yellow star, searches for planets of his own to protect and warm. Along the way, he meets other stars, learns what makes each star special and discovers that stars combine to form clusters and galaxies. Little Star also learns about planets and our Solar System.
Molecularium
Length: 25 Minutes
A musical, magical adventure that reveals the world of molecules! This show was made to inspire and interest in the atoms and molecules that make up the world around us. Together we move through the universe and every day surroundings on the magical ship called the Molecularium. View the world through the perspective of a molecule through this fun and interesting show!
Skies of First Peoples
Length: Approx. 45 Minutes
This program shares several stories from the First Peoples of New York State. Learn how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy formed under a total eclipse of the sun. Legends of the great bear, the Earth on turtle's back, coyote and the stars and the full moons are retold under the planetarium's starry sky.
Our Violent Planet
Length: 28 Minutes
We live out our lives on our planet’s fractured crust “plates” that pull apart, collide, grind past each other, and even sink below one another, producing violent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions , and catastrophic walls of water known as tsunamis. This spectacular fulldome show illustrates Earth processes including earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, geology and continental drift.
Perfect Little Planet
Length: 35 Minutes
Imagine the ultimate space vacation. Discover our solar system through a different set of eyes – a family from another star system seeking the perfect vacation spot. Fly over the surface of Pluto, our best known Dwarf Planet. Dive over the ice cliffs of Miranda. Sail through the rings of Saturn. Feel the lightning storms at Jupiter. And walk on the surface of Mars. Which destination would you choose? This is the solar system journey for space travelers of all ages.
Skylore from Planet Earth
Length: varies
The starry night sky has always filled us with wonder. Down through the ages we have looked to the skies for guidance from the images of our heroes, gods, and monsters. Storytellers have illustrated their mythologies and legends with it, passing on to future generations the customs of their people. Many of these stories have survived to the present. Award winning educator and author Dayle Brown has written five story books retelling these myths from around the world, and we have adapted them for the planetarium dome. Come and listen to some of these ancient and entertaining stories under our starry skies.
States of Matter
Length: 10 Minutes
Arrr Matey’s! What do we have here?? Is it a solid? A liquid? A gas? Hmm…Does it “Matter”? It most certainly does! We are talking about GOLD! So put on your lab coat and come investigate matter with us! The planetarium is excited to introduce our newest FullDome educational module: States of Matter! Immerse your students in this live action FullDome experience. States of Matter comes complete with a review section to fully engage your class, created specifically with kids in mind.
Grades 5-8
Blown Away
Length: 40 Minutes
Have you ever been in a thunderstorm? How about a hurricane? Come see this amazing virtual show that immerses you in both! This show explores the science surrounding our planet's climate using amazing and exciting weather footage. Now you, too can experience the excitement of being in a hurricane, but without the danger!
Cosmic Colors
Length: 35 Minutes
Cosmic Colors: An Adventure Along the Spectrum will take you on a wondrous journey through the world of color and beyond! Discover why the sky is blue, why Mars is red, and the reason why many things are the color that they are. Tour the interior of a plant leaf, voyage through a human eye, then step into the invisible universe as you investigate x-rays by taking on a monstrous black hole. Explore the world of infrared in a roaring fire, and even discover what may have been the actual color of a dinosaur. Explore the amazing rainbow of cosmic light through Cosmic Colors, an original production of the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium in cooperation with the Great Lakes Planetarium Association.
Cosmic Recipe
Length: 24 Minutes
Cosmic Colors: The famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said: "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." Though that may sound crazy, Sagan was onto something BIG! Want to know what? Pull up a chair at our Planetarium’s Periodic Table and learn the cosmic recipes that created everything in our world – even us! Discover how the Big Bang cooked up everyday elements such as the calcium in our teeth, the silicon in our smart phones, and even the carbon in our apple pies in The Cosmic Recipe.
Defying Gravity, It is Rocket Science!
Length: 24 Minutes
Meet meet Apollo Aurora, host of the Planetarium Channel’s universally loved gravity news source, Defying Gravity, It Is Rocket Science! With special robot correspondents Apple 1-6-8-6 and EGR-1, Apollo and her team will explore rocket power, gravity on other planets, monstrous black holes and even what keeps us grounded on Earth! Tune into this brand new planetarium show and uncover the mysteries of gravity.
Did an Asteroid Really Kill the Dinosaurs?
Length: 24 Minutes
Did a space rock six miles wide slam into the Earth 66 million years ago and wipe out 75 percent of all living species at that time, including the dinosaurs? Cosmic collisions are abundant in our solar system. See the numerous craters on worlds like the moon, Mars, and even distant Pluto. Explore the dinosaur disaster up close, supported by evidence from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s own Geology Department in this MPM original planetarium production. The show includes footage from the first iridium layer found in Gubbio, Italy.
Earth, Moon, & Sun
Length: 30 Minutes
This planetarium show explores the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun with the help of Coyote, an amusing character adapted from Native American oral traditions who has many misconceptions about our home planet and its most familiar neighbors. His confusion about the universe makes viewers think about how the Earth, Moon and Sun work together as a system. Native American stories are used throughout the show to help distinguish between myths and science. Learn why the Sun rises and sets and the basics of fusion and solar energy. Examine the Moon's orbit, craters, phases and eclipses. Also, the show explores past and future space travel to our Moon and beyond.
Enlightening Lightning
Length: 30 Minutes
The goal of the show is to teach lightning safety and lightning facts in an immersive environment. Through the use of video, an animated character, and a meteorologist, explore the fascination and excitement of Nature's Light Show! Understand the Science and learn the safety rules!
IBEX
Length: 30 Minutes
"IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System" details the IBEX spacecraft's exploration of the outer solar system using energetic neutral atom (ENA) imaging to create the first global maps of interactions between the million mile-per-hour solar wind and the low-density material between the stars, known as the interstellar medium. Using these data, researchers will examine the structures and dynamics of the outer heliosphere and address a serious challenge facing human exploration by studying the region that shields Earth from the majority of galactic cosmic ray radiation.
Legends of the Night Sky
Length: Each 20 Minutes
Two shows that use Greek mythology (and lasers!) to inspire an interest in astronomy. This Planetarium features the stories of Orion and of Perseus and Andromeda. Come learn about constellations and astronomy through Legends of the Night Sky!
The Little Star That Could
Length: 36 Minutes
Little Star, an average yellow star, searches for planets of his own to protect and warm. Along the way, he meets other stars, learns what makes each star special and discovers that stars combine to form clusters and galaxies. Little Star also learns about planets and our Solar System.
Oasis in Space
Length: 25 Minutes
We invite you to journey through the solar system and gaze at beautiful images of the planets and their satellites. We start by exploring Earth, with its vast oceans that make life possible. One by one, we fly by the other planets and moons, accompanied by full descriptions of their characteristics, such as atmosphere, temperature, and composition. Spectacular pictures invite students to draw their own conclusions about the other orbiting bodies in our solar system: is there water out there? Is there life beyond Earth?
Our Violent Planet
Length: 28 Minutes
We live out our lives on our planet’s fractured crust “plates” that pull apart, collide, grind past each other, and even sink below one another, producing violent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions , and catastrophic walls of water known as tsunamis. This spectacular full-dome show illustrates Earth processes including earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, geology and continental drift.
Our Cells, Our Selves Produced by Regenerative Medicine Partnership in Education
Length: 15 minutes
In Our Cells, Our Selves you are invited to a science bedtime story with 7-year old Sylvie, a recently diagnosed diabetic, who is discovering the wonders of the immune system. Sylvie’s mother tells a story that takes us back hundreds of millions of years to explore how the balance between access to food and immune protection evolved into the modern human immune system. Learn that under rare circumstances, things can go wrong, leading to auto-immune diseases like Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. The story closes with a look at the future of medicine and the potential for cures!
Dr. Allevable’s Unbelievable Laboratory Produced by Regenerative Medicine Partnership in Education
Length: 23 minutes.
Dr. Allevable and Regenerobot invite you into their laboratory as they investigate the new and exciting field of regenerative medicine! The human body is vulnerable to injuries—bone breaks, skin burns, and heart attacks, and regenerative medicine can help us heal faster by enhancing the ways that the body heals itself.
Season of Light
Length: 40 Minutes
"Season of Light" is a Planetarium star show featuring the customs and traditions of winter festivals of long ago. The show is about the coldest and darkest of seasons--a season which holds some of the warmest and brightest celebrations of the year. The show also recounts the historical, religious, and cultural rituals practiced during the time of the winter solstice. Christian, Jewish, Celtic, pagan, Nordic, Roman, Hopi, and Mexican winter festivals are featured. It is also a look at our more light-hearted traditions: from gift giving and mistletoe to songs and decking the halls with greenery and candles. Naturally, astronomy is a focus in the show--a few constellations, the Sun's path across the sky, and the Earth's tilt and orbit around the Sun are used to explain the changing seasons.
Solar System Odyssey
Length: 30 Minutes
"Solar System Odyssey" is an adventure set in the future, in a time when humans have depleted the resources of their home planet. A business tycoon recruits our hero, Jack Larson, on a mission to discover a new home for humans to colonize. Join Jack Larson on a wild ride through our Solar System as he looks for answers to these questions: How are the worlds of our Solar System alike? How are they different? What must those worlds have in order for humans to live there? The journey takes us on an exciting exploration of our cosmic neighborhood, including the icy rings of Saturn, Jupiter's volcano-ridden moon Io and the sub-zero methane lakes of Saturn's moon Titan. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center produced this fulldome show.
The material contained in this planetarium show is based on work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under grant award number NNX09AL78G. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA.
The Teenagers' Guide to the Galaxy
Length: 30 Minutes
Created and hosted by cosmically curious teenagers from urban Milwaukee schools, this unique cosmic experience will take you on a dynamic journey across the universe and through time.
Explore the origins and fate of the universe, black holes and our Sun. Witness stunning full dome animations video scripted, story boarded and narrated by our inspiring young adults.
To Worlds Beyond
Length: 25 Minutes
From the fiery surface of the Sun to the icy realm of comets, travel to worlds with enormous volcanoes, vast canyons, dazzling rings, and storms that would swallow the Earth. Learn more about Mars and Pluto too!
The Water Cycle
Length: 14 Minutes
Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, advection, humidity, transpiration, and even evapotranspiration are introduced and taught in this video. We use live action FullDome videography to immerse the audience in the learning experience. This education module ends with a review set to a rap – the “Water Cycle Rap”. Careful, you may find yourself humming the catchy tune well after the show!
The Voyager Encounters
Length: 45 Minutes
One of the greatest pioneering explorations of the solar system was conducted by the space probes, Voyagers 1 & 2. These probes went farther than has ever gone before and vastly explanded our knowledge of the solar system. The vast collection of images and data collected by the Voyagers are uncovered in this amazing show! Among other encounters, this show contains those of the probe's visits to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Come on this exiting trip through the solar system!
Grades 9-12
Black Holes
Length: 37 Minutes
Black Holes takes you on a fully immersive journey through one of the most mystifying, awe-inspiring phenomena in the universe: a black hole. Where do they come from? Where do they go? How do we find them? Is there one on Earth’s horizon? What was Einstein’s connection to them? Learn all about these mysterious objects using the latest in full-dome, 3D animation visualization technology.
Cleopatra's Universe
Length: 28 Minutes
Explore the truths and mysteries of Egypt’s legendary queen Cleopatra. This show will allow you to experience the life and times of Cleopatra in dramatic fashion as you travel back in time to see stunning re-creations of the Alexandria Library, Cleopatra’s Palace, and the Pharos Lighthouse—one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Discover the powerful Greek and Roman influences on the world of Cleopatra.
Dynamic Earth
Length: 32 minutes
Dynamic Earth explores the inner workings of Earth's climate system. With visualizations based on satellite monitoring data and advanced supercomputer simulations, this cutting-edge production follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape our climate: the atmosphere, oceans, and the biosphere. Audiences will ride along on swirling ocean and wind currents, dive into the heart of a monster hurricane, come face-to-face with sharks and gigantic whales, and fly into roiling volcanoes.
From Earth to the Universe
Length: 32 minutes
The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity’s oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today’s grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience From Earth to the Universe.
Galileo: The Power of the Telescope
Length: 30 minutes
Two eyes and two pieces of glass revolutionized human understanding 400 years ago. The eyes belonged to Galileo Galilei, and the curved pieces of glass were the lenses of his telescope. In Galileo: The Power of the Telescope – a Daniel M. Soref Planetarium original production – you'll learn Galileo's personal and powerful story, and explore how his discoveries displaced long-held views about the universe.
Travel back in time to Pisa, Italy, to experience Galileo’s early experiments with gravity and the laws of motion, his advocacy of the idea that the Earth revolves around the sun (still an absurd notion to many in the 1600’s), and his work with early telescopes. Learn how his keen observations culminated in The Starry Messenger, an early masterpiece in which Galileo described all his dazzling discoveries in a straightforward, easy to understand way. Narrated by Dava Sobel, author of the award-winning biography Galileo's Daughter.
Habitat Earth
Length: 25 Minutes
Living networks connect and support life forms large and small-from colonies of tiny microbes and populations of massive whales to ever-expanding human societies. In the California Academy of Sciences' latest original planetarium show, Habitat Earth, discover what it means to live in today's connected world. Through stunning visualizations of the natural world, dive below the ocean's surface to explore the dynamic relationships found in kelp forest ecosystems, travel beneath the forest floor to see how Earth's tallest trees rely on tiny fungi to survive, and journey to new heights to witness the intricate intersection between human and ecological networks.
Hotter Than Blue
Length: 40 Minutes
X-Rays, Gamma Rays, high energy; Hot stars, heavy stars, high density! Come learn about the spectrum of light and the part of the universe that we can't see with the naked eye through this fun and interesting show!
Ice Worlds
Length: 30 Minutes
You don’t need a parka to explore the polar regions of Earth. Ice Worlds takes you on a journey from the frigid waters of Antarctica to the frozen landscapes of distant worlds across our solar system. Planetary scientists search for water beyond Earth and examine how ice shapes other planets and moons. Studying Earth’s neighbors in space increases human understanding of the natural cycles and human influence on ice, snow, and water on Earth.
These activities combine live Q&A with full dome animations of astronomical concepts. Please note: students should bring writing instruments and something to write on.
The Making of a Star and Her Entourage
Length: 30 Minutes
The Making of a Star and Her Entourage traces the evolution of humankind’s understanding of the universe. Discover the long journey beginning with the Earth-centered model of the universe in which the Sun was considered a planet to our current understanding that the Sun is a star centered in the Solar System and is one of billions that reside in the Milky Way.
Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe
Length: 20 Minutes
Observers of the Universe is unique among planetarium shows, intertwining science and mythology to take the viewer on a poetic journey through how the Mayans have viewed and understood the Universe throughout their history. The visuals are stunning, giving the viewer the impression of being inside a beautifully stylistic painting. This artistic interpretation of the Universe makes for a journey that will not be forgotten.
The Nature of Science
Length: 22 Minutes
The Nature of Science is designed to communicate what Science is and how Scientists work. First we examine the meaning of the words Hypothesis and Theory. Several scientists then share how they do their work, and how science is accessible to everyone. The show features interviews with Weber State University College of Science Faculty as they discuss their work. Somebody has to hold the rope, as it were.
Our Cells, Our Selves Produced by Regenerative Medicine Partnership in Education
Length: 15 Minutes
Our Cells, Our Selves you are invited to a science bedtime story with 7-year old Sylvie, a recently diagnosed diabetic, who is discovering the wonders of the immune system. Sylvie’s mother tells a story that takes us back hundreds of millions of years to explore how the balance between access to food and immune protection evolved into the modern human immune system. Learn that under rare circumstances, things can go wrong, leading to auto-immune diseases like Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. The story closes with a look at the future of medicine and the potential for cures!
Dr. Allevable’s Unbelievable Laboratory Produced by Regenerative Medicine Partnership in Education
Length: 23 Minutes
Dr. Allevable and Regenerobot invite you into their laboratory as they investigate the new and exciting field of regenerative medicine! The human body is vulnerable to injuries—bone breaks, skin burns, and heart attacks, and regenerative medicine can help us heal faster by enhancing the ways that the body heals itself.
Our Violent Planet
Length: 28 Minutes
We live out our lives on our planet’s fractured crust “plates” that pull apart, collide, grind past each other, and even sink below one another, producing violent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions , and catastrophic walls of water known as tsunamis. This spectacular full-dome show illustrates Earth processes including earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, geology and continental drift.
Season of Light
Length: 40 Minutes
"Season of Light" is a Planetarium Starshow featuring the customs and traditions of winter festivals of long ago. The show is about the coldest and darkest of seasons--a season which holds some of the warmest and brightest celebrations of the year. The show also recounts the historical, religious, and cultural rituals practiced during the time of the winter solstice. Christian, Jewish, Celtic, pagan, Nordic, Roman, Hopi, and Mexican winter festivals are featured. It is also a look at our more light-hearted traditions: from gift giving and mistletoe to songs and decking the halls with greenery and candles. Naturally, astronomy is a focus in the show--a few constellations, the Sun's path across the sky, and the Earth's tilt and orbit around the Sun are used to explain the changing seasons.
Seeing, a Photon's Journey Across Space, Time and Mind
Length: 22 Minutes
Ride a photon across the galaxy to your mind's eye and experience how we see. “SEEING!” follows a photon’s creation and journey across the galaxy to a young stargazer’s eye. The viewer follows the photon into the girl’s eye, learning the structures of the eye and their functions, prior to taking a ride on the optic nerve.
"Seeing" is a full-immersion planetarium program, which will use hemispheric 2D and 3D animations and video to teach how human vision works. Imagery from all over the world including humanity, landscapes, skyscapes, wildlife and of space will be the backdrop for photo-realistic animations, which will be used to create a story of a photons’ journey through the eye and its conversion to an electro-chemical impulse that then travels the neuro pathways of the brain to the various centers that create the image the brain sees.
Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico
Length: 50 Minutes
For three thousand years, stretching from 1500 B.C. to 1521 A.D., the people of Mexico and Central America built awesome cities, developed hieroglyphic writing, performed sophisticated mathematics using the concept of zero, and made painstaking astronomical observations. Monuments carved from stone, a handful of surviving books, and the alignments of buildings are enabling archaeologists and astronomers to shed new light on these remarkable people
Solar Quest
Length: 12 Minutes
Solar Quest is a full dome planetarium short feature that demonstrates how the Sun and Earth are interconnected and that we are "Living with a Star". High quality animations display solar phenomena such as fusion and light energy as well as solar surface features and events. Granules, solar flares and coronal mass ejections are highlighted. The show discusses the impacts of space weather and how the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protects all life on Earth. "Solar Quest" features the role of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and how scientists are using it as a way to help identify and predict sever space weather. Actual videos of the Sun from SDO are used where the audience can actually see the large amount of energy being released.
Soundscapes
Length: 60 Minutes
The Planetarium becomes an immersive experience of sound. This inquiry-based program teaches students to listen, not just hear. All sounds are real and natural recordings that demonstrate how organisms interact and communicate with their surroundings.
Stars of the Pharaohs
Length: 30 Minutes
Follow the Stars of the Pharaohs to discover how ancient Egyptians studied the skies to tell time, create workable calendars, and align gigantic monuments. Explore the connection they felt with the stars and other astronomical phenomena. Not only does the program include images of the Egyptian ruins as they appear today, but some of the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world have been digitally recreated to reveal their original splendor.
Sunstruck
Length: 20 Minutes
Our Sun produces the energy that makes life on Earth possible. How does it do this? What is the Sun comprised of and how does it affect the Earth in other ways? Solar storms are a threat to our very existence, and the eventual death of the Sun will mean the end of our planet. How is this similar to the lives and deaths of stars throughout our galaxy? Discover the wonders of our sun. Its incredible energy has supported life on earth for millennia, but is now threatening our technology and way of life. Travel to the distant future to discover our sun’s connection to the universe’s cosmic cycle of life and death.
Super-volcanoes
Length: 25 Minutes
The scene was 74,000 years ago, on the island of Sumatra. A volcanic eruption triggered the sudden and violent collapse of a vast regional plateau. Toba, as the volcano is known today, was the largest volcanic eruption in the last 25 million years. But Earth has seen far larger. 250 million years ago, an eruption in what’s now Siberia lasted a million years and was probably responsible for the greatest episode of mass extinction in Earth’s history.
Super-volcanoes is an immersive planetarium show that looks back at rare classes of eruptions that have marshaled the energy that lurks, like a sleeping dragon, beneath the surface of planet Earth. The program moves beyond Earth to explore the impact of giant volcanic eruptions around our solar system. Audiences will fly down to Neptune’s frigid moon Triton, and onto the ultimate volcanic world: Jupiter’s moon Io. On a visit to a legendary North American hot spot, Yellowstone National Park, the film asks: can a super-volcano erupt in our time?
To Worlds Beyond
Length: 25 Minutes
From the fiery surface of the Sun to the icy realm of comets, travel to worlds with enormous volcanoes, vast canyons, dazzling rings, and storms that would swallow the Earth. Learn more about Mars and Pluto too!
Two Small Pieces of Glass
Length: 25 Minutes
In 1608, a German-Dutch spectacle maker named Hans Lippershey aligned a pair of lenses—one in front of the other—and noticed objects viewed through the device looked larger than when viewed with the unaided eye. The following year, Galileo Galilei built an instrument that magnified ten times, and directed his telescope to the Moon. Two Small Pieces of Glass puts you in the middle of a modern star party, discovering the wonders that even a small amateur telescope can reveal and learning about the scientists that made such views possible.
General Interest Shows
Apollo 11 Tribute
Length: 5 Minutes
Arguably, the Apollo 11 Moon landing over 40 years ago was one of the most significant and historic events of the 20th century. Dreamt about for 2,000 years, it became reality on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong took that stunning step onto another world. The immersive Planetarium production "A 40th Anniversary Tribute to Apollo 11" will re-live the impactful day and take a look at what future space explorers might come to expect in the next 40 years!
Back To The Moon For Good
Length: 25 Minute
The show opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We see what that era of landers and orbiters taught us about our nearest neighbor including the discovery of the Moon’s origin, composition, structure and the accessibility of raw materials on its surface. The Google Lunar XPRIZE is designed to democratize space and create new opportunities for eventual human and robotic presence on the Moon. We see the engineering and innovation steps taken by the internationally distributed teams competing to land a spacecraft on the Moon and vie for additional prizes. We highlight the human spirit of competition and collaboration as teams take on this audacious challenge. Who will win the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE? The audience is taken through a successful launch, landing and lunar surface travel. The show ends with a stunning glimpse of a plausible scenario for our future on the Moon.
Bad Astronomy
Length: 40 Minutes
Learn about the Cosmos while debunking common misconceptions about the Universe! Interesting for astronomers of every age, and this show will make "good" astronomers of us all!
Black Holes
Length: 37 Minutes
Black Holes takes you on a fully immersive journey through one of the most mystifying, awe-inspiring phenomena in the universe: a black hole. Where do they come from? Where do they go? How do we find them? Is there one on Earth’s horizon? What was Einstein’s connection to them? Learn all about these mysterious objects using the latest in full-dome, 3D animation visualization technology.
Chasing the Ghost Particle
Length: 20 minutes
Deep in the ice at the heart of Antarctica, IceCube, the biggest and strangest detector in the world waits for mysterious messengers from the cosmos. Scientists are using tiny and elusive particles called neutrinos to explore the most extreme places in the universe. These ghostly neutrinos give us an exclusive way to study powerful cosmic engines like exploding stars and black holes. In this show, stunning simulations of the most energetic places in our universe, and the galaxies around us, are the prelude to a thrilling journey inside IceCube, looking for traces of neutrino collisions in the ice. From one of the most remote locations on Earth to the unexplored regions of the cosmos, “Chasing the Ghost Particle: From the South Pole to the Edge of the Universe” will take you on a journey you won’t forget.
Cosmic Castaways
Length: 20 minutes
There are places where the night sky has no constellations. No Orion, no Big Dipper, nothing but a few lonely, far away stars and a few faint, ghostly patches of light. Most stars lie within the crowded boundaries of galaxies, travelling with their brothers and sisters in a vast galactic family. But some find themselves on their own, deep within voids between the galaxies. These are the cosmic castaways. This show is an original production of the Ward Beecher Planetarium and is based on the research of YSU’s resident astrophysicists Dr. John Feldmeier and Dr. Patrick Durrell.
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
Length: 28 minutes
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is a 28-minute full-dome look at the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph instrument installed on the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 during Servicing Mission 4, as well as the science behind its utility. The show covers the basics of spectroscopy at a high level, and touches on the processing of galactic and extragalactic gas. Other topics include the use of quasars as background light sources, cosmic evolution, and the development of large scale structure.
Cosmic Journey
Length: 37 Minutes
Cosmic Journey tells the story of the universe in a touching, personal way. Drift through images from the Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA Great Observatories in a full-dome experience like no other.
The Cowboy Astronomer
Length: 40 Minutes
Join cowboy poet Baxter Black as he investigates the night sky with the planetarium show Cowboy Astronomer. Take a tour of the night sky, pausing at the important constellations, listen to the various modern and Native American stories behind those constellations and find an understanding of the motions of the sky.
The Dark Matter Mystery
Length: 40 minutes
What keeps Galaxies together? What are the building blocks of the Universe? What makes the Universe look the way it looks today? Researchers all around the world try to answer these questions. We know today that approximately a quarter of the Universe is filled with a mysterious glue: Dark Matter. We know that it is out there. But we have no idea what it is made out of. This planetarium show takes you on the biggest quest of contemporary astrophysics. You will see why we know that dark matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting searches science has to offer. Join the scientists on their hunt for Dark Matter with experiments in space and deep underground. Will they be able to solve the Dark Matter Mystery?
Distant Worlds, Alien Life
Length: 53 minutes
The night sky is a view of infinity. Does alien life exist out there? Nothing we can ask about the universe is so important for our understanding of the world. In the show we examine the conditions for a habitable zone starting the journey in our own solar system. Then we imagine a tour to some of the recently discovered exoplanets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way. What might be essential for life on distant moons or planets and how could we detect it? We get an impression of the importance of telescopes, Mars rovers like “Curiosity” and space probes for these challenging studies.
Flight to the Moon - LRO/LCROSS
Length: 9 minutes
Salt Lake City's Clark Planetarium and NASA have partnered to create a mini-show about NASA’s LRO and LCROSS missions to the Moon. In 2009, two unmanned spacecraft, the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) and LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) launched together to explore the Moon in new ways. The LRO spacecraft continues to map the moon in unprecedented detail. LCROSS delivered the Centaur impactor into a shaded lunar crater (called “Cabeus”) near the lunar south pole, creating a plume for the spacecraft to fly into and collect data to look for water. This post-impact version has been updated to include results from the LCROSS mission and orbital photography from LRO.
From Earth to the Universe
Length: 32 minutes
The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity’s oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today’s grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience From Earth to the Universe.
Galaxies
Length: 45 Minutes
Written and narrated by renowned astronomer and author Timothy Ferris, "Galaxies" is a journey through the Milky Way and the universe beyond. This show demonstrates the overall structure of our universe on the grandest of all scales. Incorporating spectacular photography from observatories around the world, "Galaxies" looks at the interactions between galaxies, the varied structure of galaxies, galaxies with very active star forming regions, and much more. Also investigated are super-massive black holes, the birth and death of stars, and the age of the universe. The program also includes a look at the stars and constellations visible in the summer sky, including a glimpse of the stars as seen from Earth's southern hemisphere.
Galileo: The Power of the Telescope
Length: 30 minutes
Two eyes and two pieces of glass revolutionized human understanding 400 years ago. The eyes belonged to Galileo Galilei, and the curved pieces of glass were the lenses of his telescope. In Galileo: The Power of the Telescope – a Daniel M. Soref Planetarium original production – you'll learn Galileo's personal and powerful story, and explore how his discoveries displaced long-held views about the universe.
Travel back in time to Pisa, Italy, to experience Galileo’s early experiments with gravity and the laws of motion, his advocacy of the idea that the Earth revolves around the sun (still an absurd notion to many in the 1600’s), and his work with early telescopes. Learn how his keen observations culminated in The Starry Messenger, an early masterpiece in which Galileo described all his dazzling discoveries in a straightforward, easy to understand way. Narrated by Dava Sobel, author of the award-winning biography Galileo's Daughter.
The Hot and Energetic Universe
Length: 30 Minutes
The planetarium documentary “The Hot and Energetic Universe” presents with the use of immersive visualizations and real images the achievements of the modern astronomy, the most advanced terrestrial and orbital observatories, the basic principles electromagnetic radiation and the natural phenomena related to the High Energy Astrophysics. High Energy Astrophysics plays a key role in understanding the universe. These radiations reveal the processes in the hot and violent universe. High Energy Astrophysics probes hot gas in clusters of galaxies, which are the most massive objects in the universe. It also probes hot gas accreting around supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Finally, high energy radiation provides important information about our own galaxy, neutron stars, supernova remnants and stars like our Sun which emit copious amounts of high energy radiation.
IBEX
Length: 32 Minutes
"IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System" details the IBEX spacecraft's exploration of the outer solar system using energetic neutral atom (ENA) imaging to create the first global maps of interactions between the million mile-per-hour solar wind and the low-density material between the stars, known as the interstellar medium. Using these data, researchers will examine the structures and dynamics of the outer heliosphere and address a serious challenge facing human exploration by studying the region that shields Earth from the majority of galactic cosmic ray radiation.
The Incredible Sun
Length: 11 Minutes
Every second the Sun emits million times more energy than the world consumes every year. Where does such a huge amount of power come from? Discover our star through the breathtaking time lapses. Thanks to the real images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory and processed by advanced mathematical methods, you will experience the true nature of the Sun and find out that it is far from being as calm as it seems at first glance. The Sun’s activity, pronounced by terrific solar flares, sunspots and coronal mass ejections, influences our planet, by producing impressive auroras but also by damaging distribution networks and communication satellites. Is it a threat to us, then?
Journey to Mars
Length: 11 Minutes
Prepare your students for STEM-related career opportunities in the future. Interest them in pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation. NASA's fleet of Mars robotic explorers are paving the way for human exploration of the Solar System in the coming decades. Have your students join NASA in preparing for a monumental journey of a lifetime – to Mars!
Out There: The Quest For Extrasolar Worlds
Length: 31 Minutes
For thousands of years, mankind thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Thanks to our curiosity, imagination and urge to explore, we now know that planets like our Earth are nothing special in the cosmos. The Sun is just one ordinary star among hundreds of billions in our galaxy, the Milky Way. With the world’s most powerful telescopes, we are able to explore more and more of the Universe. What we have found so far has surpassed even the wildest expectations of scientists as well as authors of science fiction. Most stars have planets — it turns out they are more common than we thought. A huge diversity of different worlds is out there, just waiting to be discovered.
Phantom Of The Universe
Length: 28 Minutes
Phantom of the Universe is a new planetarium show that showcases an exciting exploration of dark matter, from the Big Bang to its anticipated discovery at the Large Hadron Collider. The show reveals the first hints of its existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term “dark matter.” It describes the astral choreography witnessed by Vera Rubin in the Andromeda galaxy and then plummets deep underground to see the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth, housed in a former gold mine. From there, it journeys across space and time to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, speeding alongside particles before they collide in visually stunning explosions of light and sound, while learning how scientists around the world are collaborating to track down the constituents of dark matter. From the journey of protons racing through the world’s largest particle collider in Europe to up-close views of the Big Bang and emergent cosmos, Phantom of the Universe will immerse you in the search for dark matter.
The Pluto Story
Length: 7 Minutes
A look at the popular ex-planet and why it was reclassified as a dwarf planet.
Relics of the Big Bang
Length: 36 Minutes
Relics of the Big Bang is a show designed and produced by researchers in the Michigan State University Department of Physics and Astronomy and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory in conjunction with Abrams Planetarium staff, with the assistance of MSU students in many fields including graphic design, narrative writing and sound engineering. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Relics of the Big Bang explores the still-mysterious beginnings of our universe and the effect which current research (much of which involves MSU researchers) is having and will have upon the unravelling of these mysteries.
The StarGazer
Length: 37 Minutes
Come along on a journey to the stars with University of Illinois astronomer Jim Kaler. Nichelle Nichols and Dr. Kaler narrate this three-part personal look at astronomy. The show begins with a child's curiosity, moves on to the science of gravity, light, the spectrum, and how they help us decipher the lifestyles of the stars, then ends with reflections on the deeper meanings of astronomy in our own lives.
The Sun: Our Living Star
Length: 25 Minutes
The Sun has shone on our world for four and a half billion years. The light that warms our skin today has been felt by every person who has ever lived. It is our nearest star and our planet’s powerhouse, the source of the energy that drives our winds, our weather and all life. The passage of the Sun’s fiery disc across the sky — day by day, month by month — was the only way to keep track of time for countless past civilizations. Don’t be fooled by the terminology; although it is a typical dwarf star, the Sun consumes 600 million tons of hydrogen each second and is 500 times as massive as all the planets combined. Discover the secrets of our star in this planetarium show and experience never-before-seen images of the Sun’s violent surface in immersive full-dome format.
Sunstruck
Length: 20 Minutes
Our Sun produces the energy that makes life on Earth possible. How does it do this? What is the Sun comprised of and how does it affect the Earth in other ways? Solar storms are a threat to our very existence, and the eventual death of the Sun will mean the end of our planet. How is this similar to the lives and deaths of stars throughout our galaxy? Discover the wonders of our sun. Its incredible energy has supported life on earth for millennia, but is now threatening our technology and way of life. Travel to the distant future to discover our sun’s connection to the universe’s cosmic cycle of life and death.
Two Small Pieces of Glass
Length: 25 Minutes
In 1608, a German-Dutch spectacle maker named Hans Lippershey aligned a pair of lenses—one in front of the other—and noticed objects viewed through the device looked larger than when viewed with the unaided eye. The following year, Galileo Galilei built an instrument that magnified ten times, and directed his telescope to the Moon. Two Small Pieces of Glass puts you in the middle of a modern star party, discovering the wonders that even a small amateur telescope can reveal and learning about the scientists that made such views possible.
Written in the Stars - Chinese Art in the Sky
Length: 35 Minutes
Discover a new way of appreciating the stars in this spellbinding show created by the ThinkTank Planetarium in collaboration with the Birmingham Chinese Community Centre, Hong Kong Space Museum, Macao Science Centre and Birmingham City University. See beautiful original artwork by local Chinese artist Pak-Keung Wan and marvel at the most ancient celestial symbols known to humanity. Be magically transported to Dunhuang (China) to re-live the thrill of a dragon devouring the Sun during a total solar eclipse.