WESTON FAMILIES PLANETARIUM SHOW
We offer free IN-HOUSE Public Planetarium shows on special occasions. Watch the Events Calendar for them. NOTE: We can also bring a planetarium to your school - see the Traveling Outreach Planetarium page.
Student Preparation
The 4-meter diameter inflatable dome is in a room with many astronomy and space science artifacts, meteorites, and NASA memorabilia. Students and adults will sit on the floor on small yoga mats or small beach chairs. Students must be at least 8 years old and not afraid of the dark or enclosed spaces. Students must have good balance to step through the vestibule doorways and be well behaved and quiet when inside.
Dome Capacity
Assuming a class with 1 teacher, there is room for approximately 12 elementary school children, 10 middle school children, or 8 high-schoolers or adults. The dome has a double door vestibule for easy access while standing up.
Dome Equipment
The dome is kept inflated by a large box fan, so fresh air is always flowing through. An HD video projector, amplified speakers, and a computer, make up the projection equipment. The dome is made of a fire retardant material and easily flipped up and over the group for emergency exit.
Shows
We have a variety of multimedia shows about planets, asteroids, eclipses, NASA missions, telescopes, etc. (See complete list of shows here.) We also have several "short" shows which are combined with a “live show” about constellations and the night sky using a star planetarium software to fill a typical half-hour experience. Most shows are geared toward grades 4 and up.
Additional Options
When you visit our planetarium, we often also show other educational items if time allows, such as meteorites, a dinosaur egg, pieces of NASA space gear, or something pertinent to the topic you request. This could round out your visit to a full hour and add extra interest to your visit.