The Tyler Junior College Earth & Space Science Center featuring Hudnall Planetarium has announced a slate of new dome shows — plus special operating hours during spring break.
For the week of March 14-18, the science center will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Admission to individual dome shows is $7 for adults and $5 for children, students and seniors (ages 65 and up). Day passes are also available for $12 for adults and $9 for children, students and seniors.
The science center is located at 1411 E. Lake St., on the TJC central campus. Parking is free.
Spring break dome shows and times
• Children’s Show — 10 a.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday
The planetarium offers a variety of shows for children ages 10 & under, including: “Accidental Astronauts,” “The Little Star That Could,” “From the Blue Planet to the Red Planet,” “Earth, Moon & Sun: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” and “Dinosaur Passage to Pangaea.” A different show will be selected each day.
• “Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit” — 11 a.m. Tuesday-Friday
Explore the ways NASA uses underwater environments to simulate life and work in space, offering a fascinating look into the high-tech world of astronauts. Join astronaut Chris Cassidy (current International Space Station Commander) as he trains in his space suit alongside a full-sized mock-up of the International Space Station in a giant underwater facility in Houston.
Dive to the sea floor with NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps as she lives underwater with fellow astronauts for 10 continuous days at Aquarius Reef Base in Florida. Find out what it takes to live and work in space.
• “Mountain Adventure: Out of Bounds” — noon Tuesday-Saturday
Follow Olympian Torah Bright as she journeys through the world’s longest chain of mountain ranges extending from Antarctica all the way to Alaska.
Along the way, Torah will ride with backcountry legend Jeremy Jones and free-skiing superstar Sammy Carlson. Together, they will encounter penguins, polar bears and other wildlife, and meet with scientists and environmentalists to uncover a deeper understanding of our mountain ecosystems.
• “Great Barrier Reef” — 1 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Narrated by acclaimed actor Eric Bana, “Great Barrier Reef” captures the natural beauty and exquisite strangeness of the world’s largest living wonder and introduces audiences to the visionaries and citizen scientists who are helping us better understand and protect this awesome, bizarre and vibrant living world.
• “Faster Than Light: The Dream of Interstellar Flight” — 2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Narrated by award-winning actor Sean Bean, this show dazzles audiences with virtual rides aboard the spacecraft of the future. The craft are based on whole new technologies designed to achieve ultra-high speeds, using exotic next generation rocket fuels and breakthrough concepts in physics. How far can our technology take us?
• “Extreme Auroras” — 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Created by award-winning photographer Ole Salomonsen, “Extreme Auroras” is a visual feast. Join Salomonsen as he travels through northern Norway, Finland and Sweden in pursuit of his passion to film nature’s wildest and most spectacular light show: the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
Filmed with fisheye lenses that capture the whole sky and then projected in the full-dome theater, audiences will feel immersed in the arctic wilderness, witnessing this awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.
For a complete listing of TJC science center shows and events, go to sciencecenter.tjc.edu.