Planetarium & Dome Theater

Planetarium & Dome Theater shows are presented live and use advanced technology and a luxurious new learning environment to bring the universe to you! Content includes the solar system, sky motions, our Moon, history, and more.

55 seats (additional space for up to 3 wheelchairs)
45 minutes unless noted
$5/person for 45 minute programs
$3/person for 30 minute Early Childhood programs

Price is in addition to the Group Admission.

Planetarium programs have limited availability on the weekends.

Musical Sky

Grades: PreK and K
30 minutes

Explore the sky through pictures, constellations, and songs! Learn about rockets, astronauts, the Moon, and what’s visible in the night sky.
Key concepts - Planets, Night Sky, Patterns

Patterns in the Sky

Grades 1 & 2

We’ll introduce the daily motions of the sky, the phases of the Moon, and the changing night sky. How do the motions of the Sun and Earth result in changing seasons? Why do we see the planets that we do?
Key concepts - Earth’s Seasons, Moon Phases, Daily and yearly sky patterns

The Solar System Live!

Grades 2 & up

Take your class on a tour of our solar system, discussing planets, asteroids, motions, and more! We’ll zoom in to each planet in detail, enjoying breathtaking visualizations. Returning to Earth, we explore the night sky for any visible planets.
Key concepts - Planets, Moons, Dwarf Planets, Solar System

Sun, Earth, and Moon

Grades 3 & up

Explore the daily motions of the sky, the phases of the Moon, eclipses (if requested), and the changing night sky. How do the motions of the Sun and Earth result in changing seasons? Why do we see the planets that we do?
Key concepts - Earth’s Seasons, Moon Phases, Daily and yearly sky patterns

The Sky Tonight: Star Talk

Grades 3 & up

We look at the current night sky and teach you how to find the North Star, current seasonal constellations, current planet positions, and other interesting astronomical objects. As we go, we’ll explore mythologies and observe sky motions.
Key concepts - Star positions, Earth’s daily motion, Planets

Exploring Eclipses

Grades 5 and up

We look at what causes eclipses to happen in our sky. This show answers why eclipses don’t happen every month even though we have a full and new moon every month. It looks at both lunar and solar eclipses and discusses safety concerns for viewing solar eclipses. It also looks at eclipses that happen in other parts of the solar system.
Key concepts - Eclipses, Patterns in Astronomy, Orbital planes

Big History

Grades 7 and up

Take a look at the incredible magnitude of astronomic and geologic time scales. This show begins at the big bang 13.8 billion years ago and walks through major moments throughout the history of the universe up until the present day. We’ll compare the relative lengths of time between events which demonstrate just how recent humanity really is in the scale of the universe.
Key concepts - Time scales, Big Bang, Star life cycles, Development of life on Earth

Fulldome Movies

Fulldome movies explore an array of topics, immersing your students in places faraway in time and space. Most include time for a short, live, night-sky presentation.

Larry Cat In Space

Grades PreK through 1

Larry Cat In Space is a playful, imaginative cartoon presentation about an inquisitive cat who takes a trip to the Moon. Through Larry's eyes, we observe his human family, a group of enthusiastic sky-watchers. Larry notes how human time differs from cat time. Diana takes a job on the Moon, and sadly leaves Larry behind. Larry figures out a way to hide in her clothes trunk and explores what life is like on the moon.

Key concepts - Moon, Exploration

Molecularium

Grades 1 through 3

In the digital dome adventure Molecularium: Riding Snowflakes, audiences are transported into the world of atoms, where they learn about the water cycle, the three states of matter, and that everything is made of atoms and molecules. Aligned with national science standards in primary school learning, educational assessment has shown that Molecularium: Riding Snowflakes truly helps kids learn. Riding Snowflakes brings kids on a musical cartoon adventure into a nanoscale universe created from accurate molecular simulations. They travel into a cloud, watch a snowflake form, and count the number of water molecules in a raindrop.

Key concepts - Atoms, Molecules, States of matter

Did An Asteroid Really Kill The Dinosaurs

Grades 2 through 6

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.

Key concepts - Dinosaur Extinction, Asteroids, Nature of Science, History of Earth

Expedition Reef

Grades 2 and up

Learn about the secrets of the “rainforests of the sea” as you embark on an oceanic safari through the world’s most vibrant—and endangered—marine ecosystems.

Narrated by Tony Award® winner Lea Salonga, Expedition Reef immerses you in a spectacular undersea adventure. Discover how corals grow, feed, reproduce, and support over 25% of all marine life on Earth—while facing unprecedented threats from climate change, habitat destruction, and overfishing.

Key concepts - Coral Reefs, Marine Biology, Climate Change

Sea Monsters

Grades 3 and up

Journey 80 million years back in time to an age when ferocious prehistoric creatures swam, hunted, and fought for survival beneath the vast, mysterious seas. Stunning, realistic imagery recreates the perilous underwater realm of two young, dolphin-sized marine reptiles called Dolichorhynchops, and their journey among the most awesome predators ever to prowl the oceans.

Interweaving ground-breaking fossil finds with cutting-edge animation, National Geographic’s powerful storytelling immerses you in the age when monsters ruled the seas!

Key concepts - Fossil Record, Nature of Science, Marine Reptiles

We Are Stars

Grades 4 and up

Explore the secrets of our cosmic chemistry and our explosive origins. We Are Stars details how atoms are originally forged in the nuclear furnaces at the cores of stars. It follows those atoms on their journey through time until they eventually become the atoms we find in our bodies today. Connecting life on Earth to the evolution of the Universe itself.

Key concepts - Elements, Matter Interactions, Nuclear Fusion, Time Scales

Dynamic Earth

Grades 4 and up

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.

Key concepts - Earth’s Systems, Climate Change, Biosphere, Hydrosphere

Tales of the Maya Skies

Grades 4 and up

Tales of the Maya Skies immerses viewers in the wonders of Maya science, cosmology and myth, as we are taken back in time to the jungles of Mexico and to the cities and temples of the ancient Maya.

El universo maya

Admire las maravillas de la ciencia, cosmología y leyenda maya. Esta historia bellamente ilustrada nos lleva atrás en el tiempo a las junglas de México.

Key concepts - Mayan astronomy, Mayan Mythology, Planetary motions, Eclipses

Living in Balance: Anishinaabe Star Knowledge

Grades 5 and up

Living in Balance: Anishinaabe Star Knowledge highlights Anishinaabe stories of constellations and moons in relation to contemporary insights about environmental changes. Teachings shared by Native Skywatchers Carl Gawboy, William Wilson, and Dr. Annette S. Lee are narrated by Aarin Dokum with Anishinaabemowin translations by Alphonse Pitawanakwat set to art by Elizabeth LaPensée.

Key concepts - Sky observing, Anishinaabe Astronomy

Two Small Pieces of Glass

Grades 5 and up

While attending a local star party, two teenagers learn how the telescope has helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our understanding of the Universe. Their conversation with a local female astronomer enlightens them on the history of the telescope and the discoveries these wonderful tools have made. The students see how telescopes work and how the largest observatories in the world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of the universe.

Key concepts - Telescopes, Nature of Science, Sky observing

Black Holes

Grades 6 and up

Narrated by Academy-Award nominated actor Liam Neeson, this cutting-edge production features high-resolution visualizations of cosmic phenomena, working with data generated by supercomputer simulations, to bring the current science of black holes to the dome screen.

Key concepts - Black Holes, Spacetime, Observational Methods