Project Title:  The Stars Tonight 

Museum/ Institution: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Program Created: unknown

Media Category: Theater/Immersive 

Program URL (if available):  http://www.nasm.si.edu/visit/theaters/shows.cfm 

Project Image(s) and/or Video

Media Source(s)/Credit(s):

NASM.si.edu (I wasn't allowed to take pics during the show and the Museum has not released video of this production)

Program Description: (150-250 words)

Three times each week, the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum hosts "The Stars Tonight."  It is a free show/talk given in the Albert Einstein Planetarium.  The show is “hosted” by two museum staff members.  They sky is shown from sundown through the next day, tracking the movements of stars and planets across the night sky of the museum itself.  The guides explain the stories behind constellations such as Ursa Major and Andromeda.  There are also explanations of why some stars are particular colors and brightnesses.  The sky “rotates” allowing the visitor to feel as if the planetarium, in this case representing the earth, is turning through a sped-up day.  The guide stops at various points to zoom in on visible planets and stars.  There are many opportunities to answer and ask questions.  The screen presentation also shows how light pollution affects our view of the night sky.  At the end, visitors are given star charts to continue the experience at home and are invited to use the museum’s telescopes.

Firsthand or secondary review/critique: (150-250 words) 

The planetarium experience was very informative and unlike other planetarium and IMAX experiences, was both interactive and free.  Unlike the off-site productions, such as those narrated by Robert Redford and Liam Neeson, “The Stars Tonight” is geared to a wide range of audiences not only visually but with the content.  While “Cosmic Collisions” wowed the children sitting next to me, it was obvious that children in “The Stars Tonight” got more out of the experience than a pretty picture.  The use of the planetarium screen system made it seem as if we were reclining in our own backyards, assuming we had no smog or light pollution.  The moving images allowed for a better understanding of the curve of the earth and perception based on location that a flat movie screen could not have provided.  I would have liked to see user interaction with personal responders, as one choice, to respond to questions to allow everyone to participate.  Also, there were points where it wasn’t as dark as I would have liked to see everything clearly.  Finally, I was unsure why they had so many seats towards the middle, where it would have been nearly impossible to see 90% of the show.

Technologies incorporated:

 planetarium projection, laser pointers, computer with zoom capabilities, microphone 

Internally or externally produced:

internally

Entry Contributor and Date: 

Mary Kate du Laney, 26 February 2011

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