Planetarium School Program Schedule
Soar through the skies in the Museum's spacious Planetarium, beneath precision projection of more than 6000 stars. The largest planetarium in New Jersey, it seats 150 visitors in specially-designed reclining seats that transport an audience to any astronomical destination. Now featuring state-of-the-art Full Dome Video, visitors feel the sensation of zooming through the Solar System and beyond. This cutting-edge digital technology immerses audiences within images covering the entire 360 degree inner dome.
The Planetarium offers something for everyone and features both traditional sky and laser programs. All school presentations include a live tour through our evening New Jersey Sky.
$3 per person. Advance registration is required. For reservations call (609) 292-6347.
One World, One Sky
Big Bird's Adventure begins on Sesame Street when Elmo's friend, Hu Hu Zhu, visits from China. Big Bird, Elmo and Hu Hu Zhu take viewers on an exciting discovery of the sun, moon, and stars. They also learn about the Big Dipper and the North Star. Elmo and Hu Hu Zhu then take an imaginary trip to the Moon where they learn that the Moon is a very different place from the Earth. When they imagine themselves back on Earth, they celebrate the idea that even though they live in two different countries, they still share the same sky. They even pick the North Star as their friendship star to always remind them of their shared joy of looking up at the sky together. Made possible by the Sesame Street Workshop and the National Science Foundation.
Grades: Pre-K - 2; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Originally produced as a NJSM Planetarium Show, this slide and video presentation is set in the era of slavery in the United States. It explains how slaves used the Big Dipper, also known as the as the Drinking Gourd, to find the North Star (Polaris). Join us as we follow a family that uses this celestial navigation along the Underground Railroad to reach freedom.
Grades: 1 - 5; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket
Two adventurous youngsters blast off into space in a homemade cardboard rocket for an amazing voyage of discovery through the solar system. This entertaining program introduces students to basic facts about the sun, earth and other planets of the solar system.
Grades: 2 - 4; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA1.6 and 3.3;
and DE 4 and 5.
Earth, Moon & Sun
NEW PROGRAM - Explore the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun with the help of an amusing character Coyote (adapted from Native American oral traditions), who has many misconceptions about our home planet and its most familiar neighbors. How do the Earth, Moon and Sun work together as a system, and what is the myth and science behind it? Why does the Sun rise and set? Many other commonly asked questions will be answered.
Grades: 2 - 5; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
School Classes- Don’t forget to reserve a special lecture with the Museum’s Archaeologists presented in the new Archaeology classroom with your Planetarium program!
Sky Quest
Share a young woman's lifelong fascination with the night sky. As a child, in her imagination she travels to Mars in a cardboard rocket. As an adult, she becomes an astronomer and builds a mountaintop observatory. She shares her telescope views of the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with us; points out stars and constellations; and encourages everyone to make the time to look up, even if stargazing in urban areas with light pollution.
Grades: 2 - 5; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
NEW PROGRAM - Eighty million years ago, the American Midwest lay under a great inland sea where colossal creatures ruled the waves, from giraffe-necked Styxosaurus and sea birds with teeth to the "T. Rex of the Ocean", the 40-foot super-predator Tylosaurus. This National Geographic program immerses audiences in this unexplored world of the "other dinosaurs." Meet up with a family of Dolichorhynchops as they swim through waters with prehistoric sharks and squids brought to life in our Planetarium's full-dome immersive theater. Then see the real plesiosaurs and mosasaurs in our newest exhibition, Natural History Highlights, located in the Museum's main gallery. School Classes- Don't forget to reserve your special lecture with the Museum's Paleontologists in additional to your full dome presentation! See Natural History offerings.
Grades: 3 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards
Astronaut
NEW PROGRAM - The exploration of space is the greatest endeavor that humankind has ever undertaken. What does it take to become of a part of this incredible journey? What does it take to become an astronaut? Astronaut, narrated by the actor Ewan McGregor, answers these questions and more. In this family-friendly show you experience the extreme training astronauts undergo to prepare for the voyage into the harsh conditions of outer space.
Grades: 4 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Saturn, Jewel of the Heavens
NEW PROGRAM - It’s one of the most beautiful and magnificent planets in the solar system. Once, it was the most distant planet we knew of...a mysterious world seemingly beyond our reach. But now, using sophisticated spacecraft, we have finally been able to reach out to this great ringed giant. We’ve sailed by the trillions of chunks of ice that make up its glorious rings...we’ve uncovered the bizarre faces of its moons...and we’ve peered down into its turbulent atmosphere through massive and violent hurricanes. Presented in conjunction with our newest Museum exhibit, Spectacular Saturn!
Grades: 4 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Stars
Every star has a story. Some are as old as time, faint and almost forgotten. Others burn bright and end their lives in powerful explosions. New stars are created every day, born of vast clouds of gas and dust. Through every phase of their existence, stars release the energy that powers the Universe. Journey to the furthest reaches of our galaxy and experience the awesome beauty and destructive power of Stars!
Grades: 4 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Ultimate Universe
From the boundaries of space and time, through vast fields of wondrous galaxies, to the majesty of our Solar System, this show takes you on a grand tour of the universe and lets you experience its most captivating secrets. "The Ultimate Universe" is journey from the edge of the universe through space and time to reach our home planet, witnessing the major components of the cosmos along the way.
Grades: 6 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Passport to the Universe
As new scientific discoveries reveal answers to cosmic mysteries, we wonder how we fit into this vast universe. Taking audiences on a voyage of billions of light years, Passport to the Universe, produced by the American Museum of Natural History and narrated by Tom Hanks, is an incredible journey from our home planet to the edge of the universe. Audiences fly beneath the rings of Saturn, into the heart of the Orion Nebula and back to Earth through a black hole, experiencing these stunning cosmic destinations as never before possible.
Grades: 6 - 12; suitable for general audiences; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
Extreme Planets
For centuries, humans have wondered whether we are alone in the Universe. Now, we are one step closer to knowing the answer. With the discovery of the first planet orbiting another star, we now know that planets are not unique to our Solar System. In fact, these "extra solar" planets now appear to be quite common. The Planetarium's inaugural presentation explores what makes a planet "Earth-like" and takes an immersive full dome tour of several worlds that just might fit the conditions we're looking for. From water worlds to molten landscapes, inhabitable moons to planets with multiple suns, these exotic worlds are not just science fiction anymore!
Grades: 7 - 12; related Core Curriculum Content Standards: NJ 5.1 and 5.4; PA 1.6 and 3.3; and DE 4 and 5.
