ML Interest Tag: planetarium

Blast Off: A Planetarium that Makes Space for Kids

by Rachael Brandon

Ever wanted to travel to a galaxy far, far away for a view of the night sky (minus the clouds and light pollution)? If you answered yes, the Pierce College Science Dome in Lakewood gets the job done without needing to launch in a rocket ship. With two genres of planetarium shows that cater to space explorers of all ages, interest levels and attention spans, your crew can embark on a journey through the cosmos they’ll love to the moon and back.

photo: Pierce College Science Dome

The Launch Pad
Located at Pierce College Fort Steillacoom is the Science Dome, a state of the art digital-planetarium and the only one of its kind in the South Sound region. From the moment your pint-sized space cadet walks into the theater they will be mystified by the 38′ dome-shaped screen, cleverly illuminated with rainbow lighting giving the aura of boarding an alien vessel. There are 58 seats to choose from, but your kids will love getting a spot right in front where pillows have been spread out on the floor for them to lounge on and gaze up at the mock night sky. Everyone will ooh and aah as two projectors display astonishing representations of celestial bodies making it easy to forget not only where they are, but that they are learning complex science concepts.

photo: Pierce College Science Dome

Children’s Show
The staff at the Science Dome know that junior astronomers don’t want to sit through a boring college science lecture, so they have created a short (just 40-50 minutes) children’s show that is entirely interactive and geared towards kids between the ages of 3-8. The presentation consists of out-of-this-world hands on activities (think crazy glasses for exploring the light spectrum, building a mini-satellite, or bouncing on the moon) an overview of the current night sky, and a legendary story about the constellations.

Whether you have a preschooler who just loves hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star over and over (and over) again or a mini-Galileo on your hands, everyone will walk away inspired with curiosity for our majestic universe. Show topics rotate regularly and include themes such as comets, asteroids, moons, the auroras, and more giving oodles of reason to return again and again.

Times: Sat., 12:30 p.m. & 2 p.m.
Cost: $3/kids, free for accompanying adults

photo: Rachael Brandon

All-Ages Show
Older star-gazers who are ready to dig deeper into the wonders of our universe without all the bells and whistles of a kid-centric program will love the all-ages show. During the first half-hour the whole family will enjoy a live presentation that includes an exploration of the current night sky, learning about upcoming celestial events, and a visit to some awesome extraterrestrial bodies. Following is an amazing full-dome video selected from a rotation of topics where explorers can blast off to the moons of our galaxy, explore the depths of space, and time-travel back to our own planet’s ancient past.

Helpful Hint
Video descriptions are available on the planetarium’s blog as well as the recommended minimum ages. Psst! Most shows are suitable for the early elementary school age-set.

Times: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat. 3:15 p.m.; Wed. (summer only) 1 p.m. & 2:15 p.m.
Cost: $6/adults, $3/children

photo: Pierce College Science Dome

Fuel Up
Wanna get your caffeine fix before zooming off into space? Just a two-mile detour will take you to the historic town of Steilacoom and the Topside Coffee Cabin (located under the Topside Bar and Grill). Not only is the coffee delish, but there’s a stellar view of the Puget Sound to admire!

Parking
Lot A, located just inside the north entrance of the campus is the most convenient for accessing the dome. Signs for the Science Dome will direct you toward the Rainier building, which is located adjacent to the back section of the lot.

Good to Know
Reservations can be made online for an additional (small) fee. Only cash is accepted at the door for ticket purchases, so be sure to bring your moola.

Pierce College Science Dome
Rainier Building 263-9401
9401 Farwest Dr. S.W.
Lakewood, Wa 98498
253-964-6440
Online: wp.pierce.ctc.edu/blog/sciencedome

Have you visited the Pierce College Science Dome? Tell us about your experience in a comment below. 

— Rachael Brandon

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The California Academy of Sciences: Free and Fabulous

by rttaliapage

We don’t have to tell you that living within SF’s city limits has it’s perks. But you may not know that now until March 22, one of them is free admission to The California Academy of Sciences. SF residents can walk “through” the ocean, stroll around the butterfly-filled rainforest, and oggle at a gorilla without dropping a dime during  “Neighborhood Free Weekends.” Here’s how to make the most of your gratis visit.

Ready, Set, Action! Ride a Rocking Snail, Pet A Sea Urchin, Experience An Earthquake
The Early Explorers Cove is a play zone for folks under five. Tiny tikes who are still in the sedentary stage can hang out on a rocking snail while the older, mobile kids get their sea legs on the H.M.S. Academy or run around in the “jungle”.

Shake it up with kids over three at the popular Earthquake exhibit. Strollers aren’t allowed in the Earthquake house, but you’ll find parking just outside.

 The Discovery Tidepool is fun for all ages. We heard squeals of delight from adults and toddlers alike who ventured to plunge their hands in the tank to pet an invertebrate.

Lunch and a Show
When you’ve had your fill of interactive activities and running around, head to The Terrace for a bite and a drink. Kids can refuel with an organic PB&J while while parents relax with a glass of wine or beer. (The second glass is free during Happy Hour from 2-4 p.m.). Proceed to the Morrison Planetarium to sit back and enjoy a show featuring more stars than any of the Hollywood movies.

Organizing Your Trip
Paying for standard entry for a family of four is more than $100, so taking advantage of your neighborhood’s free weekend is well worth it! (The standard entry cost is $35 for adults, $30 for teens aged 17 and under, and $25 for kids aged 4-11.) Adults can bring up to six kids each during the free weekends. Be sure to visit during the days allocated to your zip code.

Neighborhoods: Bernal Heights, Castro, Cole Valley, Glen Park, Haight, Lake Merced, Mission, Noe Valley, St. Francis Wood
Zip codes: 94110, 94114, 94117, 94127, 94131, 94132
Spring 2015 Free Days: Feb. 27, 28, Mar. 1

Neighborhoods: Parkside, Sunset
Zip codes: 94116, 94122
Spring 2015 Free Days: Mar. 6, 7, 8

Neighborhoods: Chinatown, Marina, Nob Hill, North Beach, Presidio, Richmond, Russian Hill, Seacliff, Telegraph Hill, Western Addition
Zip codes: 94108, 94109, 94115, 94118, 94121, 94123, 94126, 94129, 94133
Spring 2015 Free Days: Mar. 13, 14, 15

Neighborhoods: Bayview-Hunters Point, Downtown, Hayes Valley, Ingelside-Excelsior, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, SoMa, Tenderloin, Treasure Island, Visitacion Valley
Zip codes: 94102, 94103, 94104, 94105, 94107, 94111, 94112, 94124, 94130, 94134, 94158
Spring 2015 Free Days: Mar. 20, 21, 22

For more info, including i.d requirements and other fine print, visit this page before your visit.
Golden Gate Park
55 Music Concourse Dr.
San Francisco, Ca
415-379-8000
Online: calacademy.org
Hours: Mon.–Sat. 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.

—Talia Page

Are you planning on attending your neighborhood free weekend?

 

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The Parent’s Ultimate Guide to Rock Creek Park

by Ayren Jackson-Cannady

One of the things that makes D.C. such a great city to live in is that smack dab in the middle of it is one of our country’s oldest national parks. Rock Creek Park is a 1,750-acre expanse of wildlife and greenery that bisects the city and features a huge array of amenities, including a golf course, horseback riding, a nature center and planetarium, an outdoor concert venue, and playgrounds. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by city crowds and white noise, duck down into the park for a quiet nature walk, an adrenalin-pumping bike ride, a colorful bird watching tour, or a magical night of stargazing. It’s just what the doctor ordered.

Be One With Nature
Stop by the Nature Center for brochures, maps and information about hiking trails. There’s also a bookstore and a smattering of exhibits on area plants and animals. Kids will love the Children’s Discovery Room filled with environmental education books and games, along with a bilingual exhibit in Spanish and English called “Discover Rock Creek.” Spend time with live turtles, fish, snakes, an active beehive, a bird observation deck, and a “water-wise” garden. You can take the little ones on a half-mile self-guided interpretive trail that begins behind the Nature Center. Insider’s Tip: Pick up a free Discovery Hunt Kit from the Nature Center. Designed by first graders from Mundo Verde Public Charter School, it’s a self-guided discovery hunt for kids over 5.

Rock Creek Park Nature Center
5200 Glover Rd., NW
Open: Mon.-Sun., 9 am-5 pm

Catch a Show
Carter Barron Amphiteatre is a 4,000-seat outdoor performance venue nestled in the trees of Rock Creek is the prefect place to catch a free summer concert. People rave about the theatre’s sound quality and cozy atmosphere. Scope a kid-friendly performance here: Carter Barron Schedule.

Carter Barron Amphiteatre
4850 Colorado Ave., NW
202-426-0486

Giddy Up
Find peace in the company of horses and those who love them deep in the woods of D.C.’s Rock Creek Park. The horse center offers boarding, camps, lessons, trail rides and pony rides for equestrians of all skill levels.

Rock Creek Park Horse Center
5100 Glover Rd., NW
202-362-0117

Star Gaze
Take advantage of curriculum-based planetarium shows for a variety of ages, presented each week by park rangers. The Planetarium uses a projector with high-tech Spitz software to project an image of the night sky onto a large, dome-shaped ceiling that takes you on a journey through our solar system, galaxy and beyond. Planetarium shows are free. Pick up your tickets at the Nature Center’s front desk up to 30 minutes before each show. And don’t miss the very cool evening stargazing sessions that take place once a month (April through November) when National Capital Astronomers set up telescopes at Military Field off Military Road. You won’t believe the celestial bodies you can see in the night sky when you remove the city’s star-obscuring light pollution!

Rock Creek Park Planetarium
5200 Glover Rd.
Open:  Mon.-Sun., 9 am-5 pm

Become a Junior Ranger
Let the kiddos learn about the park and become official Junior Rangers. Visit the Nature Center, Peirce Mill, and Old Stone House to pick up a Rock Creek Park Junior Ranger booklet, or download one here. Booklets are designed for ages six to 12 and feature activities in identifying types of trees, plants, flowers and animals, and in describing the various duties of Park Rangers. Junior Rangers take a pledge to help protect the park, community and earth by becoming an active and responsible steward of the environment. Those who complete the booklet and take the pledge get a Junior Ranger Badge. Just like that!

What’s your favorite thing to do with kids in Rock Creek Park? Give us the scoop in the comments section below. 

–Jamy Bond

Photos courtesy of Rock Creek Park via Facebook

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Celestial Oohs and Ahhs Worth Staying Up Late For

by Ayren Jackson-Cannady

You may not know your eclipse from your penumbra but you still thrill at the sight of a falling star. Share that sky-high feeling with your own starry-eyed wonders by trying these stellar picks for celestial-inducing oohs and ahhs that make it worth keeping them up past bedtime.

Go to Paris. Paris, Va, that is.
Cruise an hour west of NoVa near Paris Va. to escape the bright city’s lights and find the perfect stargazing site at Sky Meadows State Park. Each month, the park opens at night for a Saturday night star party, that includes a half-hour program for kids ages 7-12 presented by Air and Space Museum Albert Einstein Planetarium staff, a night sky orientation and (cross your fingers for clear night skies) an opportunity to see the stars and planets up close and personal through a telescope. With a little night luck, you and the kids will share the real deal of the Milky Way. Cue the star soundtrack for the ride home. We are stardust. We are golden. Insider Tip: Bring flashlights but cover them with a brown paper bag. Stargazing etiquette is to keep things dark. A brown paper bag lets you see but it is not a bright light.

Sky Meadows State Park
1012 Edmonds Ln. (Delaplane, Va)
Cost: $5/car
540-592-3556
Online: dcr.virginia.gov

We Don’t Need No Stinking Telescope
You can watch the International Space Station travel across the sky without a telescope. NASA’s Spot the Station website delivers all the deets on when and where in the night sky to look for the coolest flyby in your corner of the universe. Wait for the longer flight durations (5-6 minutes) and pass on the 3:34 am flyby; this craft will orbit around again. Pro tip: Sneak a test run so you’ll be ready to help your space explorers spot the astronauts wave as they pass by in the space station. Oh, when it says 9:52 pm, they mean it. You snooze, you lose. Jaw-dropper fact you can casually mention to the kiddos: Space Station is moving 5 miles per second or somewhere around 17,500 miles per hour. Whooosh!

Online: spotthestation.nasa.gov

Fantabulous night for a Moondance
Come Sept. 9 head outside with the kids in PJs and gawk at the superdooperest super moon you’ll see all year (there are three of them, and this is the last one). Read them their bedtime story by moonlight. If Goodnight Moon is an old cliché (do they ever tire of that book?) try Kitten’s First Full Moon. Some North American Indian tribes call the full moon the Green Corn Moon or Sturgeon Moon. What would your family name this moonzilla? Weather permitting, howling and dancing are recommended.

Icarus Couldn’t, But You Can
Go ahead get close to the sun and stare. No worries—you and your mini sunbeams can gawk safely at sunspots through the really big telescope at the Public Observatory, just outside of the east terrace of the Air and Space Museum. If you are lucky you will also see a moon crater and Venus, too. Umbrella warning: If it is cloudy or rainy the Observatory is closed.

Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory
National Air and Space Museum
Independence Ave. at 6th St., SW (National Mall)
Open: Wed.-Sun., 12 pm-3 pm
Online: airandspace.si.edu

Monthly Stargazing Fix
Satisfy your stardust jonesing with a fix at these local planetariums, observatories and sky watching events online.

  • Rock Creek Planetarium and Nature Center
    5200 Glover Rd., NW
    202-895-6070
    Online: nps.gov
  • Arlington Public Schools
    David M. Bowen Planetarium
    426 N. Quincy St. (Arlington, Va)
    703-228-6070
    Online: aspsva.us
  • University of Maryland Observatory
    3200 Metzerott Rd. (Adelphi, Md)
    Online: astro.umd.edu

 Where do you go to stargaze? Give us the scoop in the comments section below. 

—Linda Bennett

Photo courtesy of Lotzman Katzman via Flickr, Sage Ross via Flickr, Anthony Crider via Flickr

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Inside the Totally Awesome Lawrence Hall of Science with Gretchen Walker

by writerredtri

We’re big fans of any place that takes on the challenge of making science fun and accessible for our kiddos and The Lawrence Hall of Science goes above and beyond. With hands-on educational activities, thoughtfully-tailored exhibits, and more, The Lawrence Hall of Science provides programs that engage all students in science across learning environments. This fantastic Berkeley resource was your Totally Awesome pick for best kid-friendly museum in the Bay Area, and we can see why. Gretchen Walker, Director of the Public Science Center, recently took the time to chat with us about what makes The Lawrence Hall of Science special, how she got involved, and more. Read on:

Red Tricycle: Congratulations on being voted “Most Awesome” by your community! What do you think your customers value most about your business?

Gretchen Walker: I think our customers most value the opportunity to have a truly interactive experience as a family. Here at the Hall, we have experiences that invite your whole family to step into the shoes of a scientist and engineer. You have the opportunity to design, build, and test your own solutions to engineering challenges. You can stop and ask questions in a planetarium show. You can divert rivers, meet animals, and look back at the Earth from outer space. Everything is designed to give you the opportunity to explore together, and to really get that quality fun time as a family.

RT: What inspired you to get involved with the Hall?

GW: I’m a science center director because it was a visit to a planetarium when I was eight that inspired me to go on and study astronomy in college. Things that happen outside of school are hugely important in helping kids develop their own interests. I want to be a part of inspiring other kids with a lifelong interest in science.

RT: Can you give us one tip for balancing entrepreneurship with parenthood?

GW: Find ways to include your kids in what you do. The great thing about my job is that my four year old daughter can understand and enjoy some of it. While most of my job really is meetings and spreadsheets, there are lots of times when I need to come in to the Hall on weekends for a special event. Sydney likes to tag along and see what new fun things there are to do at Mommy’s museum.

RT: What is your proudest moment as a business owner or parent?

GW: My proudest moment is both as a museum director and as a parent. This summer, we opened Design Quest, a new exhibition that lets everyone design, build, and test everything from stop motion movies to cars to shoes—it’s the culmination of work we’ve been doing to provide repeatable, open-ended experiences that are both educational and cross-generational. I went into the exhibition to meet my daughter and her grandparents who were enjoying an afternoon together waiting for me to finish up work. Sydney ran up to me and said “Mom! Mom! Mom! Check out this awesome superpower shoe that Nana and I invented.”  She and her grandmother were both smiling from ear to ear and covered in bits of tape, scraps of paper, and pen marks.

RT: Is there a special offer you’d like to include for Red Tricycle readers?

GW: We’d like to offer Red Tricycle readers the opportunity to come visit and have a hands-on science adventure. Readers can get a pass for one free youth admission with a paying adult. Visit lawrencehallofscience.org/youthpass to claim and print your pass. Use code “MostAwesome”. Please note: Youthpass is for ages 3–18, and must be claimed by12/31/2013.

Want to learn more about The Lawrence Hall of Science? Follow this totally awesome museum on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

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Los Angeles Activities: 6 Awesome (and Cheap!) Community Pools

by Jacqui Boland

Looking for a place to cool off with the kids this summer? Sometimes the beach just doesn’t cut it (too much sand, wind or saltwater for finicky toddlers) and an orderly pool is just the ticket to keep everyone in the family happy. Fortunately, the city of Los Angeles has a plethora of community pools (59!) that are inexpensive and accessible. Here are our picks for the best places to swim with kids. Feel free to add your favorite in the comments below.

1. Rosebowl Aquatics Pasadena, Ca. Hours: 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm, weekdays; 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm on Sat & Sun. Why We Like It: Community Programs, Movie Night and Summer Camp make it an intergral part of the Pasadena community. Cost: for Non-Member Day Use: Adult (18 & over) 2$, Children (17 & under) $1.00.

2. Griffith Park Pool Los Angeles, Ca. Hours: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm on weekdays and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm on weekends. Why We Like It: The location (within Griffith Park) offers a slew of kids activities including pony rides and a planetarium. Cost: FREE for youth under 17, $2.50 for adults, or $2.00 for adults showing a library card.

3. Hansen Dam Aquatic Center Lake View Terrace, Ca. Hours: Weekdays and weekends 10:00 am – 7:00 pm, waterslide hours 11:00 am – 6:00 pm. Why We Like It: A waterslide and the graduated pool depth makes it accessible for all ages. Cost: FREE for youth under 17, $2.50 for adults, or $2.00 for adults showing a library card.

4. Santa Monica Swim Center Santa Monica, Ca. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10:00 am – 7:00 pm, Weekends 10:00 am – 7:00 pm. Why We Like It: The facility is clean and pleasant, the pools are 80 degrees and the Splash pool (3-4 feet) is good for kids. Cost: Resident Child-$1.00, Adult-$2.50, Non-Resident Child-$2.00, Adult-$5.

5. Hubert H. Humphrey Pool Pacoima, Ca. Hours: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm on weekdays and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm on weekends. Why We Like It: It’s always hot in the valley, and it’s adjacent to the Park with a children’s play area. Cost: FREE for youth under 17, $2.50 for adults, or $2.00 for adults showing a library card.

6. John C. Aruge Expo Center Los Angeles, Ca. Hours: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm on weekdays and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm on weekends. Why We Like It: The shallow wading pool is easy to navigate with toddlers. Cost: FREE for youth under 17, $2.50 for adults, or $2.00 for adults showing a library card.

— Tori Theissen

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