THE SAUNDERS PLANETARIUM SHOWS

The "New" Saunders Planetarium
The Saunders Planetarium now features a new projection dome, new seating arrangements and a state-of-the-art star projector—the GOTO Space Simulator Chronos projection system—capable of recreating the night sky from any time in less than 20 seconds from the past, present, and future from anywhere on the planet! In addition, the new interactive planetarium is capable of playing movies, ultra 3D graphics and live videos from NASA.

Saturn, The Ring World 2 – the Cassini Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons
Full dome digital video
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
As Saturn begins to re-appear in our evening sky during the first quarter of 2009, the ringed planet becomes the true “Lord of the Rings” in the Saunders Planetarium. After nearly seven years in transit, the two-story Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 2004 and began exploring Saturn and its moons, including sending the Huygens probe to land on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Ring World is narrated by Star Trek’s John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox on Enterprise) and was produced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Includes an interactive tour of our night sky including the current position and phase of the moon and the position of planets currently visible at night.

Earth’s Wild Ride (45 - 50 minutes)
Full dome digital video
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
While learning about eclipses, the ice age, Earth’s water cycle and differences between the Earth and Moon, the audience is taken on a roller-coaster-like ride through canyons of raging rivers and hot flowing lava. The show includes an interactive tour of our night sky including the current position and phase of the moon and the position of planets currently visible at night.

It’s About Time (45 - 50 minutes)
Full dome digital video
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
Travel from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to an orbiting geosynchronous space station. Look at the universe through a fictional time bending telescope. It’s About Time talks about the cycles that rule our planets and our lives, and ends with the entire time since the Big Bang compressed into a single day. The show includes an interactive tour of our night sky including the current position and phase of the moon as well as the position of planets currently visible at night.

Larry Cat In Space (45 - 50 minutes)
Full dome digital video
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
Take off on a lunar adventure with a curious stowaway cat! Children will enjoy learning about space travel, the Moon, and the lunar environment. The show includes an interactive tour of our night sky including the current position and phase of the moon and the position of planets currently visible at night.

MOSI's Tonight Show (45 - 50 minutes)
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
Join MOSI’s astronomy educators on a live, interactive, and exciting astronomical tour. Discover which planets, stars and constellations are visible in the current nighttime sky. Learn about current cutting edge discoveries being made by astronomers around the world. Finally, have an opportunity to get answers to your astronomical questions.

Two Small Pieces of Glass (45 - 50 minutes)
Full dome digital video (Debut on Astronomy Day, May 2, 2009)
Meeting Location: Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center
Two students attending a local star party learn how the telescope helps us understand our place in space and how the telescope continues to expand our understanding of the Universe. The students see how telescopes work and how the largest observatories in the world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of the universe. The show includes an interactive tour of our night sky including the current position, phase of the moon and position of planets visible at night.

Note: All Planetarium shows are included with paid MOSI admission. Showtimes and titles are subject to change.

If you're interested in more information about the planetarium, please contact Tim Hill, Manager of Interpretive and Outreach Programs by e-mail at thill@mosi.org.