Show Descriptions

“Ancient Earth”

How old is the Earth? Our ancestors tried to answer that in very different ways than we do now. Explore these methods, and why the answer kept changing. Finally, learn why we look to rocks--even from the Moon--to answer the question.

NGSS standards: MS-ESS1-4, HS-ESS1-6, HS-ESS1-5, HS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-3, HS-PS1-8, MS-PS1-1, 5-PS1-1, 4-ESS1-1, 3-LS4-1, MS-ESS1-2

“Celebrations for a Long Winter's Night”

The long cold winter nights of December are well suited for celebrations. This festive show illuminates the meaning of the winter solstice, and shares some history behind our holiday customs. Photo: Kevin Willis (WKYU)

“Clocks of the Ancients”

Explore how our ancestors kept track of the change of time. Learn the basics of sundials, including how to build one. Discover why ancient peoples divided the night sky into sections, and more.

Subjects: sundials; mathematical divisors; latitude and longitude

“Daily Motions”

Learn how and why the Sun, the Moon, and the stars appear to move across the sky each day. Explore the difference between how they appear to move from Kentucky and how they move from the Equator or the North Pole!

Subjects: Earth's rotation; measuring time passage

“Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th Anniversary”

Learn the life cycles of stars using only images from the Hubble Space Telescope.  Unlike any other show here, there is no narration, but employs a specially composed soundtrack inspired by HST’s legacy. Questions about HST, its images, and astronomy will be answered at the conclusion of each show.

“Invisible Universe”

We learn about the cosmos by analyzing the light that shines across space, but visible light is only a tiny portion of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Only recently have we invented the kinds of telescopes needed to see the rest of the universe: infrared, radio, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma-rays.

Subjects: electromagnetic spectrum; astronomical discoveries

“Lives of the Stars”

A highly interactive experience where you will point to a star in the sky, we we will all learn its name, it's distance, and more. Through this we will explore the life cycles of stars: how they form, what they do, and how they end.

“Metal World: Mission to Asteroid Psyche”

NASA is currently flying a mission to visit a world very rich in iron. Learn how such a world could exist by learning what asteroids and meteorites are like. Note that the planetarium has six such meteorites on exhibit.

Subjects: geology; differentiation; planet formation

“MoonBeings”

The search for life beyond Earth leads us to the surprisingly diverse array of moons in our very own solar system. What places in a solar system are likely locations for life as we understand it?

Subjects: extraterrestrial life; Solar System structure; moons; the role of water for life; radiation shielding

“Motions in the Sky”

Why does the Sun rise and set? How does the path change throughout the months? How does the Moon move through the sky? Where are the other planets in the sky?

Subjects differ by grades: elementary - noon Meridian (AM/PM); Movement of Sun, moon and planets; time zones | high school - Retrograde motion; time zones; Daylight Savings Time; celestial clock

“Our Star: the Sun”

Of all of the stars we can see, one has by far the largest impact on us.  Now we explore it in ways never before possible.  What happens inside the Sun that makes it so hot and so bright?  What is Solar Weather, and why do we hear about it so much now?

“Phantom of the Universe”

Follow protons through CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and descend a mile beneath the ground searching for dark matter. Evidently it makes up 85% of the total mass of the universe, yet it has so far been detected only by its gravitational effects. Film narrated by Tilda Swinton.

“PlanetQuest: Discovering Worlds Around Other Stars”

The first planet around another star was discovered in 1992, and since then we've discovered many more. Learn how we discover planets, and what kinds of planets we tend to find. How do we know which planets might have life, and are any close to us? And see real photos of planets previously only imagined.

“Saturn's 'Young' Rings”

Explore the young age of Saturn's rings in context of our lives, the formation of our Solar System, and the birth of our Universe to understand what "young" actually means from a cosmic perspective.

Subjects: Geologic time line; age of the Earth, the Universe, Saturn's rings; ring structure and formation

“Spaceship Earth”

Where we stand in the cosmos: a perspective. Learn how everything in the universe spins and orbits, and how the universe is, indeed, expanding.

Subjects: planetary, solar, and galactic astrophysics

“Two Small Pieces of Glass”

Combining a full-dome movie and highly interactive lessons, students learn how telescopes work, and learn their role in expanding human understanding.

Suitable for grades 3 to adult. Subjects: Galileo, Huygens, Newton, Hubble; physics of light and planets; reflection & refraction

“When the Universe Was Young”

Explore why we believe we finally understand what the universe was like when it was young, and learn three tools we use to come to that conclusion.

Subjects: early universe; look-back time; spatial dimensions; electromagnetic spectrum; redshift

“Weathering Storms on Other Worlds”

What is the weather like on Saturn? How far down does the Red Spot storm on Jupiter go? We understand weather on other worlds by understanding how weather works on Earth. Explore the skies on other worlds.