School Shows

We hope you'll be able to come visit us for a presentation with our DIGITAL STAR PROJECTOR! It is capable of zooming in on many different celestial objects in the night or pre-dawn sky! Planetarium school shows and after-school shows are free of charge , but available by reservation only. Please call 505-566-3361 or e-mail mayeuxd@sanjuancollege.edu for reservations. Planetarium shows for schools are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at the following time slots:

Tuesday:       9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m.
Thursday:      9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

The school-show season opens on September 8 as per the above daily schedule and ends on May 27. The Planetarium will not be available during holiday breaks such as Thanksgiving week (November 23-27), winter break at Christmas (December 18 - January 4), and spring break (March 22-26). Shows are typically about an hour long. Many times it is a multiple presentation; most often it consists of a video on an astronomy-related subject matter, followed by a planetarium sky show using the star projector.

After School Shows

Planetarium shows are offered by appointment for after-school groups once per week on Tuesday afternoons at 4 p.m. This time slot is typically used for groups like scouts, but can also be used as a special presentation time for groups like church groups, or even for school groups coming from far out of town (i.e. - groups who can't arrive for a show until later in the day.)

Summer Shows

In June and July, San Juan College Planetarium is pleased to offer free shows for summer groups such as boys and girls clubs, church groups, 4-H clubs, and summer school groups! We will begin taking reservations on June 8th, and begin offering summer shows on Tuesday, June 9th. Presentations for these groups will be from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of July. Reservations will be needed for these presentations in the same way that they are needed for school shows during the normal academic year.

Additionally, the Planetarium will offer free summer shows, called "Starry Days" programs, intended for smaller groups and families on Wednesdays at 10 - 11 a.m. which will not require reservations, but will be the equivalent of a daytime public show like our usual AstroFriday presentations (although we will not be able to offer a stargaze afterwards, of course!) These will begin on June 10th and will continue every remaining Wednesday throughout the months of June and July. As with regular AstroFriday public shows and regular school shows, no late admittance will be permitted once the show has started and there is a maximum seating capacity of 60 for any one presentation.

Following is the schedule for Starry Days for the summer of 2009:

June 10 - AstroSmiles

June 17 - Toys in Space 2

June 24 - International Toys in Space

July 1 - Planets

July 8 - Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Overview

July 15 - The Flight of Apollo 11: The Eagle Has Landed

July 22 - The Mission of Apollo-Soyuz

July 29 - Field Trip to the Moon

Public Shows and Stargazes

San Juan College Planetarium offers a free public show and stargaze event ("AstroFriday") approximately once per month. The exact Friday every month often depends on the phase of the Moon: the nearest night to the first quarter phase will usually be the AstroFriday night. Sometimes, however, it will be on the night of a different lunar phase, due to scheduling conflicts. The times for the shows for most of the year (see exceptions below!) are at 6:30 & 7:30 p.m., and the show is just under an hour long. If the weather is clear, then a stargaze utilizing the college's telescopes will follow in the courtyard between the planetarium and the little theatre at 8:30 p.m. There is no admission charge for either the planetarium show or the stargaze, but there is a seating capacity of 60 in the planetarium dome, so seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no capacity limit for the stargaze, as this takes place outside. For the planetarium shows, there is no late admittance into the planetarium theater once a show has started, due to the necessity of preserving darkness in the theater.

2009-2010 AstroFriday Schedule

 

June 26 - Virtual Earth

July 31 - The Flight of Apollo 11: The Eagle Has Landed

August 28 - Ancient Observatories: Timeless Knowledge

September 25 - Field Trip to the Moon

October 23 - The Aurora: A Mystery Explained

November 13 - Liftoff to Learning: Microgravity

December 5 - (Saturday) Luminaria Stargaze

December 11 - The Star of Bethlehem

January 15 - Eyes on Mars

February 19 - Navajo Sky Legends

March 12 - Test Flights: Flights of Discovery

April 23 - Apollo 13: Houston, We Have a Problem

May 21 - Skywatching: A Guide to the Daytime Sky

 

Show times for all AstroFridays other than in June, July, or May 2010 are 6:30 & 7:30 p.m., and stargaze afterwards (weather permitting) is at 8:30 p.m. June, July and May 2010 AstroFridays will have starting times for all events an hour later at 7:30 & 8:30 p.m. for shows, and a stargaze at 9:30 p.m. This is done in order to accomodate the later sunset and light in the sky which occurs around the summer solstice. The planetarium reserves the right to substitute shows. It is also possible (though not probable) for there to be a change in a show's date.