BAD ASTRONOMY: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS
March 13 - May 30
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND
Were the Apollo visits to the Moon actually a hoax? Have aliens ever
landed on Earth? Can you tell your future by the stars? Prepare to tackle
pseudoscience head-on with the planetarium show Bad Astronomy :
Myths and Misconceptions.
The March 13 – May 30 planetarium program is based on the popular
book and website of the same name. Astronomer Dr. Phil Plait is the
“Bad Astronomer”. He’s not a subject of the show, and he’s not a “bad”
astronomer – Dr. Plait just can’t stand to see bad astronomy in the movies,
in commercials, and generally anywhere in our popular culture.
Bad Astronomy offers a unique and fun approach to learning about
the cosmos. The Bad Astronomer himself will serve as our guide
while offering a critical but light-hearted look at popular myths and
misconceptions, revealing to audiences how science can be used to
evaluate questionable claims.
Presentations of Bad Astronomy will be offered in the Koch Planetarium
each Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The program is a production of
the Dassault Systémes Planetarium in Detroit. •
Weather Exhibition Brings Tornados, Lightning and Precipitation Into the Museum
January 1 - April 18
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND
Get ready for some really wild weather! The Museum’s popular traveling exhibition is about to blow into town. Created for a successful school outreach program conducted by the Museum, MIDWEST WILD WEATHER has been on tour to other museums during the past few years, but the collection of science exhibitions has returned for display again.
Continuing through April 18, visitors are able to see these dynamic weather exhibits in the Alcoa Gallery. Built in 2000, the exhibits were used as a Museum outreach project from 2001 through 2002. During that time, they traveled to schools in an effort to improve science literacy of students and to assist teachers in teaching meteorology.
In all, over 7,000 elementary and middle school students and teachers from 30 area schools benefited from the program. The components were designed to help people of all ages understand the ways of weather by focusing on wind and water, air and heat, light and sound. Using exhibits such as Tornado and Downdraft, visitors can see the effects of fast moving winds. Radar Tracking simulates the use of the Doppler radar used in tracking severe storms. Thunder simulates a bolt of lightning and challenges them to calculate the distance from a nearby thunderstorm, keeping in mind the differences between the speed of sound and the speed of light. Other displays allow visitors to create solar energy; observe hot air rising; blow snowdrifts; experiment with a Doppler Radar; and
see what it is like to be a meteorologist using a working weather station.
WORLDS IN MOTION
January 9 - March 7
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND
One sun slips below the horizon while another sun waits its turn to set in this fanciful view of a planet within a double star system.
Join Couch and Ida Potato for an exploration of motion. From electrons zipping around the nucleus of an atom to our own galaxy zooming across the Universe, our first feature Koch Planetarium program of the year looks at how and why worlds move the way they do.
Made possible through a grant from JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND, WORLDS IN MOTION investigates Newton’s First Law of Motion, demonstrates basic celestial mechanics, and provides real-life examples of how everything in the Universe is constantly in motion. The half-hour presentation, suitable for children ages 11 and above and adults, features the late Winter and early Spring constellations such as Orion, Taurus and Leo.
Presentations of Worlds In Motion take place each Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. from January 9 – March 7. Admission is free to Members with the presentation of a valid Membership card. This program is a production of the Sudekum Planetarium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Season Of Light
December 3, 2009 – January 3, 2010
The holiday planetarium show SEASON OF LIGHT will be presented at 1:00 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday from December 3, 2009 - January 3, 2010. This annual show is presented IN LOVING MEMORY OF DR. AND MRS. H. S. DIECKMAN from their family VIRGINIA DIECKMAN LEZHNEV and ALEXANDER “SASHA” LEZHNEV.
Season of Light showcases historical, religious, and cultural rituals of winter — celebrations that bring warmth and light to the coldest and darkest season of the year. Along with a look at seasonal traditions, the show also details Winter constellations and examines astronomical explanations for “the Star of Bethlehem”.
Fall Brings a
Visitor From the Past
October 27 - November 29, 2009
Few artifacts are as mysterious and captivating as Egyptian mummies, and Museum guests will have a chance to meet one this Fall. THE CHILD MUMMY, brought to Evansville under a special arrangement with the St. Louis Science Center, will be on display October 27 - November 29.
The St. Louis Science Center worked closely with an internationally-known anthropologist from Florida State University and a mummy specialist at The
American University in Cairo, Egypt to study The Child Mummy. Their investigation revealed that the mummy is a boy who died at about seven to eight months old. He probably lived during the period of 40 BC to 130 AD, and was likely from an upper middle class or wealthy family since mummification was expensive.
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Bad Astronomy: Myths and Misconceptions
June 6 – August 23, 2009
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND
Were the Apollo visits to the Moon actually a hoax? Have aliens ever landed on Earth? Can you tell your future by the stars? Prepare to tackle pseudoscience head-on with the new planetarium show BAD ASTRONOMY: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS.
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND, the June 6 – August 23 planetarium program is based on the popular book and website of the same name. Astronomer Dr. Phil Plait is the Bad Astronomer. He’s not a subject of the show and he’s not a “bad” astronomer — Dr. Plait just can’t stand to see bad astronomy in the movies, in commercials, and generally anywhere in our popular culture. Bad Astronomy offers a unique and fun approach to learning about the cosmos. The Bad Astronomer himself will serve as our guide while offering a critical but light-hearted look at popular myths and misconceptions, revealing to audiences how science can be used to evaluate questionable claims. In order to set the record straight, Dr. Plait debunks urban legends such as the faked Moon landing, alien visits to Earth, and horoscopes that can predict your future.
Presentations of Bad Astronomy will be offered in the Koch Planetarium Tuesday – Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Our Summer program is a production of the
Dassault Systèmes Planetarium in Detroit
Clouds of Fire Details
the Process of Star Birth in
the Koch Planetarium
March 28–May 31
1:00 p.m.
Presented in partnership with the ALLEN GRAY CEMETERY TRUST
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are …” The questions that we asked from our youngest days have intrigued humans for thousands of years. What is a star? Are all the stars the same? How do stars shine? From March 28–May 31, CLOUDS OF FIRE: THE ORIGIN OF STARS explores the intriguing connection between the formation of stars and everything in the Universe. Presented in partnership with the ALLEN GRAY CEMETERY TRUST, the show will be featured in the Koch Planetarium Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 p.m.
The origin of the Universe and its primary visual component—the stars—has fascinated astronomers throughout history. Scientists tell us the size of a star has considerable impact on how long it lives. A star’s color is also an indicator of how hot it is. Using these two criteria, much can be learned from a careful examination of the myriad of stars in the night sky.
Clouds of Fire explores the cycle of star birth and death and the inner workings that led to the formation of stars out of clouds of dust and gas. Over five billion years ago, our own solar system was formed out of such dust. The planets, Sun, comets, asteroids, and even the atoms and molecules of living things, all had their origin in the stars.
