Current Shows
Run time: 26mins
Target: 5th Grade, High School Physics/Astronomy
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 5th Grade - 5.E.1.2, 5.P.1.3
- 6th Grade - 6.E.1.3
- 8th Grade Social Studies - 8.H.3.2
- High School Physics - Phy.1.1, EEn.1.1.2
Description: An immersive, historical documentary that showcases the achievements of the Apollo program, and what it took to put the first human on the moon. It introduces a new generation to the immense challenges they overcome, and will inspire them to become explorers, designers, engineers, thinkers, and dreamers of the future.
Run time: 6mins
Target: Grades 6-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.1, 6.E.1.2, 6.SI.1.1
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.1.1.1, EEn1.1.2
Description:
What lies at the heart of our galaxy? For 20 years, ESO was very large telescope in
the Keck telescopes have observed the center of the galaxy, looking at the motion
of more than 100 stars and identifying the position of otherwise invisible object
– the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Journey to the center of
the Milky Way is the first short photo planetarium show produced in house by ESO.
Embark on this journey and 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. Are there plants
around them, perhaps with moons? Do they have water? Could they harbor life?
Target: Grades 5-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 5th Grade – 5.E.1.1
- 7th Grade – 7.E.1.2, 7.E.1.3, 7.E.1.4, 7.E.1.5, 7.E.1.6
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.2.5.3, EEn.2.5.5, EEn.2.6.1
Description:
Weather is intensifying in varied and complex ways. Extreme Weather takes us to the
frontlines: melting tidewater glaciers in Alaska, sensor pods inside tornadoes in
the Great Plains, and wildfires fueled by drought in California. Follow these researchers
and everyday heroes as they uncover surprising connections to help us understand and
adapt to our ever-changing weather.
Target: Grades 6-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.1, 6.P.2.1
- 7th Grade – 7.E.1.2, 7.E.1.3
- 8th Grade - 8.E.1.4
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.2.5.3
Description:
Experience nature’s fury as you witness moments when all of nature‘s powerful forces
are unleashed. You’ll get thrown into the heart of the sea to ride out a massive hurricane,
get swept up into the massive funnel cloud of a violent tornado, and get launched
into orbit around the sun as a gigantic solar flare erupts from its surface. You’ll
learn how these phenomena develop overtime and how they can transform themselves into
cataclysmic events when the forces of nature converge.
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 1st Grade - 1.P.1.1, 1.P.1.2, 1.P.1.3
- 3rd Grade - 3.P.1.1, 3.P.1.2
- 4th Grade - 4.G.1.1
- 5th Grade - 5.P.1.2
- 7th Grade - 7.P.1, 7.P.1.2
- 8th Grade - 8.H.3, 8.H.3.2
Description:
Join uniquely animated brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright for a full-throttle adventure
through the history and into the future of aeronautics! Learn about the four forces
of flight — lift, weight, thrust and drag — with demonstrations by the Wright brothers
and share observations and discoveries with Leonardo da Vinci as he creates his “flying
machine.” Along the way, you’ll meet Bessie Coleman, the first woman of African American
and Native American descent to earn an aviation pilot’s license; break the sound barrier
with Chuck Yeager; and take an exhilarating flight across the Atlantic Ocean with
Amelia Earhart.
Runtime: 20mins
Target: Grades 2-7
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 3rd Grade – 3.P.1.1, 3.P.1.2
- 4th Grade – 4.P.1.1
- 5th Grade – 5.P.1.1, 5.P.1.4
- 7th Grade – 7.P.1.1, 7.P.1.2
- Middle School Engineering (Integrated Strands) - Apply design thinking to solve problems
Description:
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. Learn about how the history
and future of flight and how NASA is discovering new and safer ways to travel with
the help of future engineers and aviators.
Run Time: 30mins
Target: Grades PreK-5
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 1st Grade - 1.E.1.1, 1.E.1.2, 1.SI.1.1, 1.TT.1.1
- 2nd Grade - 2.E.1.1, 2.SI.1.1, 2.TT.1.1
- 3rd Grade - 3.E.1.1., 3.E.1.2, 3.P.3.2, 3.L.2.2, 3.SI.1.1, 3.SI.1.2, 3.TT.1.1
- 4th Grade - 4.E.1.1, 4.E.1.2, 4.E.2.3, 4.SI.1.1, 4.SI.1.2, 4.SI.1.3, 4.TT.1.1
- 5th Grade – 5.E.1.2
Description:
Coyote has a razor-sharp wit, but he’s a little confused about what he sees in the
sky. Join our amusing character (adapted from American Indian, oral traditions) in
a fast paced and fun full dome show that explores lunar phases, eclipses, and other
puzzles. Engaging and immersive earth, moon, and sun also examines how humans learned
through space exploration. A perfect show for school audiences!
Runtime: 29mins
Target: Grades 9-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.2, 6.E.1.3
- High School (Physical Science) – PSc.3.2.1
- High School Earth/Environmental - EEn.1.1.2
- High School Physics - Phy.2.1.1
Description:
Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between our solar system and the
rest of our galaxy. Designed for visitors with an appreciation for the challenges
of space science and a desire to learn more about science research, this 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 systems boundary. Narrated by two inquisitive teenagers, audiences
will hear from the scientists and engineers that developed the IBEX missions and created
the spacecraft and get the latest updates on the missions' discoveries.
Runtime: 6 mins
Target: Grades 6-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.3
- 8th Grade – 8.L.3.3
- High School (Biology) – Bio.2.2.2
- High School (Earth/Environmental) - EEn.2.8.1
Description:
Star skies are vanishing treasure because light pollution is washing away our view
of the cosmos. And not only threatens astronomy, it disrupts wildlife, and affects
human health. The yellow glows over cities and towns-seen so clearly from space-are
testament to the billions spent in wasted energy from lighting up the sky. This show
introduces and illustrates some of the issues regarding light pollution and suggests
three simple actions people can take to help mitigate it.
Runtime: 23mins
Target: Grades 3-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 3rd Grade - PS.3.2.3
- 4th Grade – 4.P.3.2
- 5th Grade – 5.ESS.1.1
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.2, 6.E.1.3
- High School (Physics) – Phy.2.1.2, Phy.2.2.3
Description:
While attending a local star party, two teenage students learn how the telescope has
helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our
understanding of the Universe. Their conversation with a local female astronomer enlightens
them on the history of the telescope and the discoveries these wonderful tools have
made. The students see how telescopes work and how the largest observatories in the
world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of the universe. While looking
through the astronomer's telescope, the students, along with the planetarium audience,
explore the Galilean Moons, Saturn's rings, and spiral structure of galaxies. During
their conversation with the astronomer, they also learn about the discoveries of Galileo,
Huygens, Newton, Hubble and many others.
Visuals will include actors green screened into a computer graphic star party environment
with a variety of telescopes used by amateur astronomers. As the program progresses,
the show uses video and full dome imagery to present the story of the telescope and
the astronomers who used them to make their dramatic discoveries. All skies and full
dome video will transport the planetarium audiences to some of the largest observatories
in the world, as well as places of historical significance. The soundtrack was recorded
by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Runtime: 29mins
Target: Grades 3-6
NC Standard Course of Study:
- 3rd Grade - 3.E.1.1, 3.P.2.2, 3.P.2.3, 3.P.3.1, 3.P.3.2, 3.SI.1.1, 3.SI.1.2, 3.TT.1.1
- 5th Grade – 5.E.1.1
- 6th Grade - 6.P.3.1, 6.E.1.2, 6.E.1.3, 6.SI.1.1, 6.TT.1.1
Description:
Jack Larson embarks on a quest to discover a new home for humans to colonize, piloting
his spacecraft on a wild ride through our Solar System. Along his journey, Jack encounters
a traveling companion who helps him search for answers to these questions: How are
the worlds of our Solar System alike? How are they different? What must those worlds
have in order for humans to live there? Together, they speed through an exciting exploration
of our cosmic neighborhood, including the icy rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s volcano-ridden
moon Io, and the sub-zero methane lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Runtime: 27mins
Target: Grades 6-12
NC Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.P.1.2
- High School (Biology) – Bio.1.1.3
- High School (Physics) - Phy.2.2.1
Description:
Follow the journey of a single photon as it is produced in a distant star, before
travelling across the vast expanse of space to land on someone's retina. This full
dome planetarium show explores some of the fascinating processes of the cosmos, from
astrophysics to the biology of the eye and brain.
Runtime: 12mins
Target: Grades 6-12
NC Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.1
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.1.1.2
Description:
An explorer of the cosmos has traveled too far… and can’t find home. In the creative
process of producing planetarium shows, we often come across imagery that is stunning
but doesn’t work in the context of a science show. And so our collection of full dome
astronomy has matured into a hybrid form of storytelling where we mix imagination
with real data.
Run time: 20mins
Target: Grades K-5
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 1st Grade – 1.E.1.2
- 3rd Grade – 3.PS.2.1, 3.PS.2.2, 3.PS.2.3, 3.PS.2.4
- 5th Grade – 3.5.ETS.1.2, ESS. 1.1, ESS.3.1, 5.E.1.1
Description:
This show for families takes audiences on a roller coaster ride from the moon through
the universe, our galaxy, and our solar system. This high-speed adventure will immerse
you in some of the most amazing sites in the universe. It will be a ride you will
want to take repeatedly.
Run time: 16mins
Target: Grades 5+
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 5th Grade – 5.L.1.1
- 7th Grade – 7.L.1.2
- High School (Biology) – Bio.1.1.1
Description:
At the center of miniaturizing medicine in the year 2053, you shrink down to the size
of a micro and get injected into a patient who is suffering from mysterious viral
infection. As a piece together, the viral clues found along the way, you’ll race against
time to save the patient on a roller coaster ride through the body. Laser battles,
genetic weapons, and lots of surprises along the way make this show audiences will
want to experience repeatedly. Producing corporations with the University of Utah
medical school.
Runtime: 6mins
Target: Grades 9-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.3
- 8th Grade Social Studies – 8.H.3.2
Description:
An edit of the Apollo 11 moon landing and space walk with original footage from 1967.
Runtime: 23mins
Target: Grades 3-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 3rd Grade – 3.E.1.1, 3.E.1.2
- 4th Grade – 4.E.2.3
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.2, 6.E.1.3
Description:
From breathtaking landscapes to violent volcanic eruptions, to Saturn’s icy rings,
this show transports you on a majestic journey through the planets and moons of our
celestial neighborhood. Our journey begins as we follow a comet through interplanetary
space. On each of our exotic ports of call, real data and images from modern space
probes are transformed into stunning wrap-around visualizations.
Runtime: 36mins
Target: Grades 2-5
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 2nd Grade – 2.L.1.1, 2.L.1.2
- 4th Grade – 4.L.1.1
Description:
Meet all the pandas at the center as they get ready for their new lives in various
parts of the world and learn about their fascinating habits and personalities.
Runtime: 28mins
Target: Grades 6-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.1
Description:
Old man winter is defeated by young man spring in part one. In part two, a woman marries
the moon.
Runtime: 32mins
Target: Grades K-5
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 1st Grade – 1.E.1.2
- 3rd Grade – 3.E.1.1, 3.E.1.2
- 4th Grade – 4.E.1.1, 4.E.1.2
Description:
Join two children on a magical journey through the Solar System, aided by a talking
astronomy book, a cardboard rocket, and a vivid imagination. During this imaginative
show, audiences will land on Venus, fly through the rings of Saturn, and discover
the secrets of the Solar System.
Runtime: 30 mins
Target: Grades 4-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 4th Grade – 4.E.1.1, 4.E.1.2
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.2
Description:
Journey back over 2000 years to Bethlehem as we seek to discover a scientific explanation for the star the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus. This modern retelling of the Christmas story is sure to charm and captivate audiences of all ages.
Runtime: 12mins
Target: Grades 5-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.3
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.1.1.4
Description:
NASA is entering an extraordinary new era. Today, NASA looks forward to writing the
next chapter of human space flight with its commercial and international partners:
advancing research and technology on the ISS, opening low earth orbit to US industry,
and pushing the frontiers of deep space even farther.
Runtime: 10min 30seconds
Target: Grades 6-12
North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
- 6th Grade – 6.E.1.3
- High School (Earth/Environmental) – EEn.1.1.4
Description:
NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and
Mars in the 2030s. Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and robotics
and human exploration as we expand our presence into the solar system.
Its formation and evolution are comparable to Earth, helping us learn more about our
own planet's history and future. Mars had conditions suitable for life in its past.
Future exploration could uncover evidence of life, answering one of the fundamental
mysteries of the cosmos: Does life exist beyond Earth?
Engineers and scientists around the country are working hard to develop the technologies
astronauts will use to one day live and work on Mars and safely return home from the
next giant leap for humanity. NASA also is a leader in a Global Exploration Roadmap,
working with international partners and the U.S. commercial space industry on a coordinated
expansion of human presence into the solar system, with human missions to the surface
of Mars as the driving goal. Follow our progress at www.nasa.gov/exploration and
www.nasa.gov/mars.