2024-2025 Sensory Friendly Show Schedule.

The Abrams Planetarium sensory friendly show schedule for Fall 2024 through Summer 2025. Each show is approximately 60 minutes long; a 30 minute recorded portion followed by a 30 minute live presentation of the current evening sky.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

11:30 am.

Over seven months in the Arctic Circle, our crews captured timelapse images of the Aurora Borealis with high resolution digital SLR cameras outfitted with fisheye lenses. The results are spectacular. For the first time the aurora has been captured as it was meant to be experienced, as a display that covers the entire sky. This immersive show shares the science behind the aurora and tells the story of our quest to find and photograph the aurora for wraparound display in fulldome theaters.

1:00 pm.

While going to sleep, Celeste is visited by a friendly particle of light called Moon. Together, they travel beyond the Sun in search of new worlds and enjoy the delights and mysteries of exoplanet hunting. Find out how to detect exoplanets with Celeste and Moon and learn about all the different types of worlds including rogue planets, oceanic worlds and super-Earths. Even more, learn about real-life exoplanet hunters who observe the sky and search for other planets that are like Earth.

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Sunday, November 17, 2024

11:30 am.

Living in Balance: Anishinaabe Star Knowledge highlights Anishinaabe stories of constellations and moons in relation to contemporary insights about environmental changes. Teachings shared by Native Skywatchers Carl Gawboy, William Wilson, and Dr. Annette S. Lee are narrated by Aarin Dokum with Anishinaabemowin translations by Alphonse Pitawanakwat set to art by Elizabeth LaPensée.

1:00 pm.

You don't need a spaceship to learn about the sun, moon, and stars-just a little imagination! When Big Bird, Elmo, and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, take an imaginary trip to the moon, they learn amazing things along the way.

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Sunday, December 15, 2024

11:30 am.

Many of the familiar customs that we observe this time of year have an astronomical connection. Our holiday offering explores the traditions that we associate with this special season.

1:00 pm.

When we look at the stars, we can play a giant game of dot-to-dot. We can use our imaginations to come up with amazing things from basic shapes to mythical creatures to our favorite animals. In this show, we will use our imaginations for a search through the stars for holiday themed shapes in the sky. This show is suitable for preschoolers, young elementary aged children, and their families.

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Sunday, January 19, 2025

11:30 am.

This show describes the basic principles electromagnetic radiation and the natural phenomena related to high energy astrophysics. High energy astrophysics plays a key role in understanding the universe. These radiations reveal the processes in the hot and violent universe. High energy astrophysics probes hot gas in clusters of galaxies, which are the most massive objects in the universe. It also probes hot gas accreting around supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Finally, high energy radiation provides important information about our own galaxy, neutron stars, supernova remnants and stars like our Sun which emit copious amounts of high energy radiation.

1:00 pm.

Join showman extraordinaire “The Great Schiaparelli” as he takes the audience on a death-defying space-time adventure within his wondrous Observatorium. From the sun-scorched surface of Mercury to the icy expanses of Pluto and beyond, prepare to be subjected to the myriad dangers and wonders of our Solar System, on a breathtaking tour that reveals just how precious our home planet really is. Be warned though, the Observatorium isn’t just for show. It will transport the audience right to the heart of some of the deadliest locations in our slice of the heavens. It’s going to take some fancy flying to get everyone back in one piece!

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Sunday, February 16, 2025

11:30 am.

For thousands of years, Africans have used their knowledge of the sky to build their societies, shape their spiritual lives, and meet their physical needs for survival. Skywatchers of Africa highlights the diversity of African astronomy, examines cultural uses of the sky that developed throughout history, and celebrates our shared human experience.

1:00 pm.

Join children's entertainer Fred Penner as he explores things large and small, from the colors of the rainbow, to the reasons for the seasons. Through the use of entertaining songs and immersive environments, children are encouraged to participate while learning about the planets, constellations, meteors, the moon and more.

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Sunday, March 16, 2025

11:30 am.

What keeps Galaxies together? What are the building blocks of the Universe? What makes the Universe look the way it looks today? Researchers all around the world try to answer these questions. We know today that approximately a quarter of the Universe is filled with a mysterious glue: Dark Matter. We know that it is out there. But we have no idea what it is made out of. This planetarium show takes you on the biggest quest of contemporary astrophysics. You will see why we know that Dark Matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting searches science has to offer. Join the scientists on their hunt for Dark Matter with experiments in space and deep underground. Will they be able to solve the Dark Matter Mystery?

1:00 pm.

Like almost all children, Celeste is fascinated with dinosaurs. She is preparing a talk for her class about how they went extinct when Moon, a very wise and magical character, poses a tantalizing question: what if I told you that there are still dinosaurs among us? Celeste will join Moon in a journey through time. An exciting adventure that will show them the Earth as it was in the very, very distant past. They will see the fascinating transformations that these animals underwent over millions of years, creating giant creatures, armored beasts and super predators, until the day that a cataclysmic impact event caused a mass extinction on Earth. But all is not lost. Celeste will discover the key to their survival.

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Sunday, April 27, 2025

11:30 am.

Out There: The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds shows how our perception of our place in the Universe has changed and how the discoveries of exoplanets we made in the last decades even surpassed the dreams of science fiction authors.

1:00 pm.

The story about an average yellow star on a search for planets of his own to warm and protect. Along his way, he encounters other stars, learns what makes each star special, and discovers that stars can combine to form clusters and galaxies. Eventually, Little Star finds his planets, and each is introduced to audiences along with basic information about the Solar System.

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Sunday, May 18, 2025

11:30 am.

One Sky Project is an international collaboration focused on increasing understanding about cultural and indigenous astronomy, its historical and modern applications, and how our One Sky connects us all. Each short film represents the perspective of a different culture or Indigenous society from around the globe. Each film stands alone as a short story or in combination as a longer narrative – organized around themes of "Finding Patterns" and developing tools, or as we say, "To Seek Far."

1:00 pm.

What are we made of? Where did it all come from? Explore the secrets of our cosmic chemistry, and our explosive origins. Connect life on Earth to the evolution of the Universe by following the formation of Hydrogen atoms to the synthesis of Carbon, and the molecules for life. Narrated by Andy Serkis.

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Sunday, June 15, 2025

11:30 am.

For thousands of years humans observed the light coming from the night sky with their eyes. In the beginning of the 17th century, the invention of the telescope by Galileo revolutionized our knowledge of the Universe. Finally, in the 20th century with the advent of rockets, it became possible to go above the earth's atmosphere and observe X-ray and gamma ray radiation which are the marks of the hot and violent Universe. But it is not only light that can give us information about the cosmos. Neutrinos and cosmic rays also provide vital information. Finally, the detection by the LIGO experiment of gravitational waves from two merging black holes opened a new window in astrophysics. This show presents images of the cosmos as revealed by all these different messengers.

1:00 pm.

The stalwart heroes of The Zula Patrol are on an expedition collecting samples of weather for scientist Multo's research. When the Zula gang inadvertently hurts their loyal pet Gorga's feelings, he decides to leave Zula and find another planet to live on. Villain Dark Truder then tricks Gorga into helping with his latest nefarious scheme to rule the universe. The Zula Patrollers find out and go after him-in the process learning all about weather, both terrestrial and interplanetary. Based on the hit TV series.

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Sunday, July 20, 2025

11:30 am.

Leading scientists in observational and theoretical studies of black holes and galaxies, industrial experts in cutting-edge big technologies, and professionals in science dissemination have been brought together to set up research projects which will combine the latest state-of-the-art observations, numerical simulations and innovative analytic tools to compare theory with observation, and shed light on the physics of black hole formation in the context of galaxy evolution. This planetarium show presents the environments of the black holes in an impressive and understandable way to the audience.

1:00 pm.

While solving a crossword puzzle about the sky, Scarlet Macaw and her friends explore the cause of day and night, the importance of our star the Sun, the beauty of the constellations, and the variety of objects that make up the Universe.

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Planetarium Parking (Click for Map):

Weekends and weekdays after 6:00 pm free parking is available in the lot directly across the street from Abrams Planetarium (Lot 41). Weekdays from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm public parking for the planetarium is limited. Busses and other marked vehicles may park directly in front of the planetarium, in the bus loading zone while their presentation is being given. Passes are also available for up to six vehicles for the bus loading zone on a first come basis, if busses are not using the area. On weekdays the closest public parking to the planetarium is in the parking ramp directly behind the building (Shaw Lane Parking Ramp, Ramp 1/Lot 51). Public parking is in the basement sublevels and is Pay by Plate. For more information about Pay by Plate, please visit to the MSU Parking Services website.

Before you visit the Abrams Planetarium, take a virtual tour of our building: