The Marie Drake Planetarium

Where the stars always shine in Juneau, AK

2019 Shows and Events

Christmas in Space

What happens in space over Christmas and Winter Solstice? Join us for an interesting mix of these special times and astronomy with history, astronauts, telescopes, and humor.  Find out how The Cassini Mission to Saturn and Kennedy Space Center celebrated Christmas. This presentation by Rosemary Walling and Cristina Della Rosa. 
This fun show is suitable for all ages.

Portable Planetarium

See the stars. Learn about planets, stars, and more.  Put it together and create your very own universe!  Activity for kids through elementary grades.

Not the portable we used - just a fun picture.

Celestial Navigation.

Presentation by Nick Nickerson

Rocket Science 101 - From Earth to Space 

Presentor Marc Finkelstein

Galaxies - Engines of the Universe

Presenter:  Dave Hanson who will share some of his own photos.

Image below is a watercolor of Milky Way galaxy.

Dave is a planetarium board member and avid astrophotographer.

Exploring Mars  Adult Show - 

From Spirit and Opportunity to Mars 2020

Presentation by Rosemary Walling will address:  What’s the latest news from Mars?  Rovers Spirit and Opportunity are now silent.  What is their legacy? Rover Curiosity is still roving.  What’s the story of water on Mars?  What can we expect from the InSight lander and the Mars 2020 rover? 

The Night Sky of Orion's Stars

The constellation of Orion the Hunter leaves the Juneau night sky in April.  Why are we fascinated by these stars and the legends told about them? To astronomers, the region of Orion is rich with bright stars, clusters of stars, and colorful nebulas. The Orion Nebula is known for stellar nurseries where new stars and planets are born.  And what do Orion and 'shooting stars' have to do with Halley's comet? 

Exploring Mars! - Kid’s Show

Presentation by Rosemary Walling

Kids Show at the Planetarium: 
 The Orion Constellation - Stars and Stories!

Kids' Day at the Planetarium

Winter Stars

t's wintertime and time to draw and learn constellations you can find at night. Plus, a question for this month -- what would Christmas be like on Mars?  What do you think? Take home a big dipper marshmallow project..

What is Space?

Kid's Show

Presenter:  Rosemary Walling

Darkness Visible

Steve Kocsis will present information about the first image of a black hole from the event horizon telescope. The science and technology behind the picture will be covered. Presentation is intended for adults. 

Earth Day History and Humor

All ages

Presenter:  Cristina Della Rosa

Community Day on Campus

Part of Juneau Jazz and Classics

Table at this free family event at UAS

Earth's footprint in the Galaxy
Have we been seen? Have we been visited?'

Earth continuously broadcasts signals into space.  Some are aimed at satellites and deep space probes, others are unintentional like TV, radio and Radar.   What if any remain detectable by a potential alien civilization light years away?  Can they respond?  Would we recognize the response?  Can they come and visit?  How likely is it they have?

Presenter:  Marc Finkelstiein

See the stars in portable planetarium

Two events.

Valley Library co-sponsored by Juneau public library and Girl Scouts.


Alaska State Museum First Friday event - co-sponsored with  Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum.  July 20 is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Kick off the moon celebration with a portable planetarium show for kids with the Marie Drake Planetarium. Shows start at 4:30, 5:15 and 6 p.m

Kid's Activity -- Make a Universe!

See the stars. Learn about planets, stars, and more.  Put it together and create your very own universe!  Activity for kids through elementary grades.

Moon Rocks and How we got them to Earth

Presenter:  Cathy Connor, UAS Professor of Geology, Emerita.  She is also the author of  the popular handbook Roadside Geology of Alaska


In this talk we will explore lunar geology and the US/USSR "Space Race". How scientific exploration and Cold War politics lead up to the Apollo Missions between 1961-1972.

Night Sky

Presentation by Clark Branch and Dave Hanson

KId's Show on Telescopes

How do telescopes see more than we can see with our own eyes?  Both collect light, but telescopes see more and we can turn that light into amazing pictures to keep.   How do we do that?   How big are telescopes?  See some amazing telescopes and their pictures like those from the Hubble in space and the Keck in Hawaii.

Apollo 11 -Fire on the Moon

Science and politics of Apollo 11 mission.

Apollo 11 - 2019  Documentary

Fundraiser at the Gold Town Nickelodeon on 50th anniversary of landing in 1969.

The Greatest, Strangest and Coolest Space accomplishments of all time! Some you might have heard of, many you probably haven't.

Presentation by Marc Finkelstein.


It's set in a countdown top 10 format. It's most appropriate for adults and older teens, but all are welcome.

Exoplanets

Before a show, public invited to a presentation by the Juneau Community Charter School. 4th and 5th grade students. They will present their exoplanet projects. Each student will have a poster with information about an exoplanet they "discovered." They chose a type of star for their planet to orbit and indicate if it has any moons. They will address if their exoplanet has a tilt or  if it rotates, and also describe a food chain of organisms that live on the planet.  This fun project is full of imagination,

NASA  image of earth like exoplanets

Community Group Presentations

Gold Rush Days

We had a table of astronomy activities e.g. art projects

School Group Presentations

Moon Phases - Riverbend
Montessori
Juneau Community Charter School

Digital Planetarium Week

October 7 - 12.  Learn more