Detailed Program Offerings

Details of available programs are listed here. To schedule a show or for assistance in selecting a program, phone Frank Benenati, Director of Outside Groups 607-252-6492.

SCCS Planetarium Full-Dome Movies  
by primary grade level

The Moon (20 minutes)

The Moon incorporates a popular animation style to capture and hold student attention. National Science Standards are covered using a variety of topics in this 3-part modular program; or it can be played straight through without pauses. The observable features of the moon, its apparent daily motion, and the pattern of change in the moon’s appearance (phases).  (First Grade)

 

Rusty Rocket (34 minutes)

Join Rusty Rocket and his band of rocket rookies as they explore the solar system.     This new voyage conveys the audience on a visually astonishing odyssey through the solar system!   Fly across Saturn's rings, soar along a Martian canyon; lift off from the Moon; delve deep into the solar interior!  A fast, visually intense program that will leave children and adults alike in complete awe! (Second Grade.)

 

Magic Tree House Space Mission (30 minutes)

Travel with Jack and Annie, stars of the Magic Tree House® children’s book series, as they search for answers to a mysterious riddle they discover in a written note signed “–M.”

Viewers peek into the treehouse and follow Jack and Annie on an exciting adventure as they meet a helpful astronomer and an astronaut. As they travel to an observatory and beyond into space, Jack and Annie nearly get … well, we don’t want to give the surprise away!  (Third Grade)

 

Earth, Moon, & Sun (26 minutes)

Coyote has a razor-sharp wit, but he’s a little confused about what he sees in the sky.  Join this amusing character (adapted from American Indian oral traditions) in a fast-paced and fun show that explores lunar phases, eclipses and other puzzles. Engaging and immersive, Earth, Moon & Sun™ also examines how humans learn through space exploration.  (Fourth Grade) 

 

Asteroid: Mission Extreme (25 minutes)

Asteroid: Mission Extreme takes audiences on an epic journey to discover the potential that asteroids present to facilitate manned space travel. Through stunning visuals and state of the art computer graphics, the film will present the fascinating idea, based on real science, that asteroids could be used as stepping stones to other worlds, veritable “way stations” in space enabling us to cross the entire Solar System.  (Fifth Grade)

 

Destination Mars (30 minutes)

Ever wonder what it would be like to fly to Mars? NASA – and others – have their sights set on the Red Planet and they’re building the technology to get us there! Destination Mars: The New Frontier gives you an up-close look at humanity’s most epic endeavor.

Explore the work being done around the globe to help make the dream of getting humans to Mars a reality. Fly through the International Space Station, where astronauts are already living and working in space, and follow the rockets and vehicles that will take humans beyond the Moon and, one day, all the way to Mars! Travel along as we imagine this remarkable journey.  (Sixth Grade)

 

Additional Full-Dome Movies
Some with age recommendations

From Earth to the Universe (30 minutes)

The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity's oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today's grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience From Earth to the Universe. Origins, telescopes, tour of planets, stars, supernovas.  For age 8 and older.

 

The Hot and Energetic Universe (30 minutes)

The Hot and Energetic Universe" presents with the use of Immersive Visualizations and real images the achievements of the modern astronomy, the most advanced terrestrial and orbital observatories, the basic principles electromagnetic radiation and the natural phenomena related to the High Energy Astrophysics. High Energy Astrophysics plays a key role in understanding the universe. These radiations reveal the processes in the hot and violent universe. Age 8 and older

 

Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope (23 minutes)

The film traces the history of the telescope from Galileo's modifications to a child's spyglass — using two small pieces of glass — to the launch of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy. It explores the wonder and discovery made by astronomers throughout the last 400 years. Age 8 and older

 

Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter (28 minutes)

Phantom of the Universe showcases an exciting exploration of dark matter, from the Big Bang to its anticipated observation at the Large Hadron Collider.  The show reveals the first hints of its 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. Age 12 and older

 

Seeing! A Photon’s Journey across space, Time, and Mind (26 minutes)

SEEING!, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson a film that tells the tale of a photon's journey from the core of a star and its journey across the galaxy to a young woman's eye. It explains the conversion of energy into an electro-chemical impulse which travels the neuro pathways to the various vision centers of the brain to create the images that she sees. Age 12 and older

 

Back to the Moon for Good (25 minutes)

The Google Lunar XPRIZE is designed to democratize space and create new opportunities for eventual human and robotic presence on the Moon. We see the engineering and innovation steps taken by the internationally distributed teams competing to land a spacecraft on the Moon and vie for additional prizes. The audience is taken through a successful launch, landing and lunar surface travel. The show ends with a stunning glimpse of a plausible scenario for our future on the Moon.

 

IBEX: Search of the Edge of the Solar System (27 minutes)

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. Designed for visitors with a desire to learn more about science research, 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 creating a map of our Solar System’s boundary. Narrated by two inquisitive teenagers, audiences will hear from the scientists and engineers that developed the IBEX mission and created the spacecraft,.  Solar System, Galaxy, Universe, Heliosphere.

 

Journey to the Center of the Milky Way (7 minutes)

That lies at the heart of our galaxy? For twenty years, ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Keck telescopes have observed the center of the galaxy, looking at the motion of more than a hundred stars and identify the position of an otherwise invisible object — the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Embark on a Journey to the Centre of the Milky Way and 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.  Telescopes & black holes.

 

Mayan Archeoastronomy (20 minutes)

A unique among planetarium shows, intertwining science and mythology to take the viewer on a poetic journey through how the Mayans have viewed and understood the Universe throughout their history. The visuals are stunning, giving the viewer the impression of being inside a beautifully stylistic painting. This artistic interpretation of the Universe makes for a journey that will not be forgotten.

 

Out There: The Quest for Extraterrestrial Worlds (30 minutes)

For thousands of years, mankind thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Thanks to our curiosity we now know that planets like our Earth are nothing special in the cosmos. The Sun is just one ordinary star among hundreds of billions in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Most stars have planets, it turns out they are more common than we thought.  A huge diversity of different worlds is out there, just waiting to be discovered.  Historical perspective, random exploration, exoplanets.

 

Sunstruck (21 minutes)

Heliophysics is the main component of the Sunstruck! planetarium show. It includes information on the sun, parts/layers, space weather and its impact on Earth. We used several NASA heliophysics missions including SOHO, IRIS, and SDO. The audience should gain an enhanced understanding of the Sun and how it impacts our world.

 

The Dark Matter Mystery – Exploring a Cosmic Secret (38 minutes)

What does keep the universe together? What are the building blocks of the so called "glue" we have not found yet. What makes the universe look the way it looks today? Researchers all around the world try to answer this question. We know today that approximately a quarter of the universe is filled with a mysterious glue - dark matter. We know that it is out there, but we have no clue what it is made out of - yet.

 

Live Narration Shows with Stars on the Dome

Circumpolar Constellations

We will observe and learn about the circumpolar constellations and what makes them circumpolar. These include many of the more famous constellations such as the Little and Big Dipper. We will also meet Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Draco the Dragon.

The Winter Constellations

A special look at which constellations show themselves in the winter skies of central New York. Let’s get Sirius about this! Why summer and winter constellations are different!

What’s Up this Month in the Sky

A description of dates and times of special events that are happening in the near future that you can witness from your own house.