Mobile Planetarium Shows
Our shows have been created by various planetarium directors all around the world. These videos are designed for the dome screen of a planetarium and are sure to wow any audience! Shows range anywhere from 10-45 minutes long and suit a variety of different age groups. In addition to our pre-recorded shows, AstroTAC has a handful of original shows.
These shows are a great option to pair with students’ current learning and also work well for events like STEM nights where there is a steady flow of people.Â
| Title Length Age Range | Description | General Topics Covered |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmology Length: 28 minutes Recommended for ages 14 and up | The study of our universe is as old as time, yet our understanding of the origins and nature of the universe is less than 100 years old. This program is an overview of the science of cosmology. From our earliest theories about the size of the universe to the big bang theory, this show details how our understanding has evolved over time. | -Cosmology -Gravity -Supernovae -Dark matter |
| Dark Length: 20 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | Narration introduces students to the idea of dark matter, why astronomers think it exists, and explains why radio astronomy is so well-suited to its discovery. Immersive visualizations of dark matter evolution. | -Dark matter -Radio astronomy |
| Dark Matter Mystery Length: 39 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | What keeps Galaxies together? What are the building blocks of the Universe? What makes the Universe look the way it looks today? This show takes students on the biggest quest of contemporary astrophysics. Students will see why we know that Dark Matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting searches science has to offer. Join the scientists on their hunt for Dark Matter with experiments in space and deep underground. | -Dark matter -Cosmology -Large Hadron Collider (LHC, CERN) |
| Distant Worlds: Alien Life Length: 53 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | For millennia humans have watched the stars, questioning the origin and nature of what they saw. Still today we ask these questions, knowing that the Universe is a vast place filled with billions and billions of stars and planets — but yet, Earth is the only planet we know for sure to be inhabited. This show explores one of the most enduring questions of humankind — are we alone? | -Aliens -Exoplanets / planets -Biology -Life |
| Exoplanets Length: 30 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | Learn about planets beyond our solar system and techniques astronomers use to find them. | -Exoplanets -Solar systems -Exoplanet detection (various methods) -Red & blue shifting |
| Flight Adventures Length: 20 minutes Recommended for ages 6 - 12 (Grades Kindergarten - 6th) | Discover the science of flight through the eyes of a young girl and her grandfather as they explore how birds, kites, planes and models fly in this animated show. Learn about the history and future plans of flight and how NASA is discovering new and safer ways to travel. | -Aviation -History of flight |
| From Earth to the Universe Length: 32 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | Brief history of the night sky and mythology of the constellations followed by focus on Galileo and telescopes. Reviews the entire solar system with each planet getting its own small highlight. The video ends by discussing star formation and clusters, different types of galaxies, and our general place in the universe. | -Stars -Telescopes -Our solar system (all planets, Sun, dwarf planets, Kepler and Asteroid belt) -Galaxies |
| Galaxies Length: 15 minutes Recommended for ages 12 and up | Take a tour back in time and learn about the Milky Way galaxy! Begins with history, followed by focus on different types of galaxies and what they’re composed of. | -Galaxies -Milky Way -Observing |
| Hot and Energetic Universe Length: 30 minutes Recommended for ages 14 and up | High Energy Astrophysics plays a key role in understanding the universe, which is what this video is all about. Topics include hot gas in clusters of galaxies, (the most massive objects in the Universe), hot gas accreting around supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies, and high energy radiation. There is particular emphasis on the electromagnetic spectrum, what wavelengths objects emit, and how we detect them. | -Electromagnetic spectrum -Galaxies -Black holes -How we view distant objects |
| Hubble Time: 5 minutes Suited for all ages | This 5 minute video shows breathtaking images from the Hubble Telescope as if students were flying by them in space. There is no narration, only music. | -Hubble Space Telescope -Space images |
| IBEX Length: 28 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between our Solar System and the rest of our galaxy in IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System. The show follows the creation of NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). Audiences will get an in-depth look at the mission and how IBEX is collecting high-speed atoms to create a map of our Solar System’s boundary. | -Space exploration -Space probes -Our solar system |
| Journey to the Milky Way Length: 7 minutes Suited for all ages | Embark on a Journey to the Center of the Milky Way! During seven minutes travel faster than light, from the driest place on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile right to the center of our own galaxy, where a black hole is consuming anything that strays into its path. 84 million stars will appear in front of your eyes, each hiding mysteries waiting to be solved. | -Milky Way -Stars -Black holes -Telescopes |
| Losing the Dark Length: 7 minutes Recommended for ages 9 and up | Starry skies are a vanishing treasure because light pollution is washing away our view of the cosmos. This show introduces and illustrates some of the issues regarding light pollution and suggests three simple actions people can take to help mitigate it. | -Light pollution -Energy waste |
| Mayan Archaeoastronomy Length: 20 minutes Recommended for ages 9 and up | Story-like narration, video has cartoon animation. Heavy focus on the history of Mayan culture: in depth explanation of Mayan calendar, orientation of Aztec temple with earth and the sky, etc. | -Mayan history |
| NASA’s Journey to Mars Length: 10 minutes Suited for all ages | NASA wants students to be part of the Journey to Mars. NASA’s fleet of robotic scientific explorers at Mars are paving the way for human exploration. Join us in a monumental journey of a lifetime to extend the frontiers of human exploration, gaze across alien landscapes, and see our Sun rise over new horizons. | -Mars -NASA rovers to Mars -Mars biology |
| New Horizons: Little Planet Length: 6 minutes Recommended for ages 5 - 9 (Grades Kindergarten - 3rd) | A lighthearted introduction to NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Launched in 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft is scheduled to fly by Pluto and its moons in July of 2015. The purpose of the program is to introduce planetarium visitors to the mission prior to its arrival at Pluto. Video has cartoon animation, best suited for young children. | -Pluto -New Horizons spacecraft -Kuiper belt |
| Out There Length: 31 minutes Recommended for ages 6 and up | With the world’s most powerful telescopes, scientists are able to explore more and more of the Universe. What we have found so far has surpassed even the wildest expectations of scientists; most stars have planets, and it turns out they are more common than we thought. This show provides an all-encompassing introduction to the history of exoplanets, how they’re found, where they’re located, and more. | -Exoplanets -Stars -Solar systems |
| Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter Length: 28 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | The show reveals the first hints of dark matter’s existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term "dark matter." It describes the astral choreography witnessed by Vera Rubin in the Andromeda galaxy and then plummets deep underground to see the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth, housed in a former gold mine. From there, it journeys across space and time to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, speeding alongside particles before they collide in visually stunning explosions of light and sound, while learning how scientists around the world are collaborating to track down the constituents of dark matter. | -Dark Matter -Andromeda galaxy -Large Hadron Collider (LHC, CERN) |
| Saturn: The Ring World Length: 23 minutes Recommended for ages 8 - 14 (Grades 2nd - 8th) | The Cassini probe explores Saturn and its moons during its extended mission, while the Huygens probe landed on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The Cassini Saturn encounter began with a flyby of Saturn's farthest moon, Phoebe. See Saturn up-close and all-around-you on the domed planetarium screen. | -Saturn -Cassini–Huygens space-research mission -Saturn’s moons |
| Seeing Length:27 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | Focuses on in depth formation of stars by gravity (including a stars composition), followed by discussion of fusion. Explanation of electrons jumping to different energy levels and photons being emitted. Follows a photon on its journey across the universe where it ends at Earth’s atmosphere. Very in depth explanation of how our eye works and sees light. | -Star formation -Electrons and excited states -Photons -Light |
| Space Station Tour Length: 2 minutes Suited for all ages | View the inside of the space station recorded by scientists onboard! *No audio or music | -Space station |
| Sunstruck Length: 21 minutes Recommended for ages 7 and up | Explore the sun in all its glory in this show! Sunstruck takes us on a journey to discover the wonders of our magnificent sun and investigate how our star has supported life on Earth for millennia. This program includes information on the structure of our sun, the source of its energy, and how solar activity impacts our world. | -Sun -Stellar structure -Energy |
| The Incredible Sun Length: 11 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | Every second the Sun emits million times more energy than the world consumes every year. Where does such a huge amount of power come from? Discover our star through the breathtaking timelapses in this show. Thanks to the real images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory and processed by advanced mathematical methods, students will experience the true nature of the Sun and find out that it is far from being as calm as it seems at first glance. | -Sun -Surface of the Sun -Sun spots -Solar cycle |
| Two Small Pieces of Glass Length: 23 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | This show follows two students as they interact with a female astronomer at a local star party. Along the way, the students learn the history of the telescope from Galileo’s modifications to a child’s spyglass — using two small pieces of glass — to the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy. Aiming to engage and appeal to audiences of all ages, the show explores the wonder and discovery made by astronomers throughout the last 400 years. | -Telescopes -Galileo -History of astronomy |
| Voyage to Distant Worlds Length: 38 minutes Recommended for ages 8 and up | A tour of the objects in our solar system from the sun out to the Kuiper belt. This science-rich show includes the latest info from various observatories and robotic space probes. | -Solar system -Local planets and moons -Kuiper belt |
| Local Night Sky Tours Length: 15 minutes (varies on audience engagement) Age range: 3rd grade and up | Utilizing stellarium, guests will have the opportunity to view their local night sky and learn how to find constellations, understand the light pollution in their area, and discuss how the night sky changes with the seasons. | -Constellations -Star hopping -Light pollution -Seasonal changes in the sky |
| Perseverance: From Earth to Mars Time: 17 minutes Age range: Kindergarten - 6th | Follow Perseverance on its journey from being built to landing on Mars! In depth focus on the components of the rover as well as what it will be doing on Mars. | -Perseverance -Mars -Mars's surface |
| The Casual Observer’s Guide to the Night Sky Time: 1.25 hours (can be shortened to fit 45 minutes if needed) Age range: High school and up | This lecture encompases a variety of topics designed to immerse students in all things astronomy. Focuses include: light pollution, the International Dark Sky Association, naked eye observing, observing with a telescope, and more. | -Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve STEM Network -History of astronomy -Light pollution -Naked eye astronomy -Telescopes |