Planetarium Night

[plumtreeblossom]

Last night beowabbit and I had a Museum of Science Hayden Planetarium date, for which I also got school credit. The planetarium has been updated and is just lovely. The seats were comfortable in spite of having to do some neck contortions to take every thing in. We opted for a double feature, which cost only $15 total for each of us (not sure if it was a discount for seeing both or because we're museum members).

The first show was "The Sky Tonight." It's a nice, solid introduction to sky-watching, great for kids or adults, and we learned how to identify a number of constellations and key stars. The dome is very beautiful. Unfortunately the show's live narrator lacked the showmanship skills that the content deserved (as a theatre person, things like that just never go unnoticed by me, but I doubt it bothered most people). But since it's largely scripted, the content itself isn't affected even if you get a less than stellar narrator. There's great base astronomy knowledge in there.

The second show was the real treat. I highly recommend "Undiscovered Worlds," a MoS-produced show about exo-planets (planets orbiting other stars). The art direction was stunning and brilliantly imaginative. The pre-recorded soundtrack featured professional actors against a well-suited ambient soundscape. I was pleased to see it was locally produced, and that Boston can put forth this kind of creative excellence. I do hope MoS licenses the show to other planetariums around the world. Everyone should get a chance to see this.

Comments

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

The one time I saw a planetarium show there, it had a pre-recorded soundtrack and was narrated by Leonard Nimoy. *swoon* That's whose voice I WANT to have guide me to the stars! :-)