Programs Listing

Programs We Offer

The Mallory Kountze Planetarium offer a variety of programs to meet the needs of your group.

General Audiences \| Scouting Programs \| Pre-Recorded \| Classic Pre-Recorded

General Audiences

What's Up (For general audiences, Age 6 and older; approx. 1 hour) Live shows created by the presenter. These programs feature seasonal constellations, mythology and star patterns that are visible during the current season. Discussion includes our Sun, Moon, and other planets. Additional topics include active spacecraft operating within our solar system. Private show requests can have modifications to meet the groups’ needs and desired topics, with notice.

Scouting Programs

Scout What's Up Live shows created by the presenter for Girl or Boy Scout programs designed to provide the knowledge needed to earn astronomy and space-related STEM badges. These programs feature seasonal constellations, mythology and star patterns that are visible during the current season. Discussion includes our Sun, Moon, and other planets. Additional topics include active spacecraft operating within our solar system. This show can be modified to meet many needs and topics with advanced notice.

Pre-Recorded

A variety of pre-recorded planetarium programs are available for one-hour private shows. These programs may have specific educational objectives and are targeted to specific age groups. Show lengths vary but are generally 20 to 60 minutes. Below are the descriptions of currently available programs. Education & Activity Guides are not created by the Mallory Kountze Planetarium. (Some shows are available in different languages. For requests contact planetarium.)

The Little Star That Could (Ages Pre-K through 3rd Grade; about 40 minutes) More than 25 years ago, the popular and well-loved story "The Little Star That Could" was created by Saint Louis Science Center as a classic planetarium show. "The Little Star That Could" is a story about Little Star, an average yellow star in search for planets of his own. Along the way, he meets other stars, learns what makes each star special, and discovers that stars combine to form star clusters and galaxies. Eventually, Little Star finds his planets. Each planet is introduced to your audiences with basic information about our Solar System. Education & Activity Guide: Grade K-2, Grade 3-6
The Moon (Ages PK through 2nd Grade; about 30 minutes) What is the object closest to us in space? Observe the Moon's surface and how its appearance changes in the sky. Aimed at Year 1 to Year 4 students, this three-part film focuses on observations of the Moon. Part 1 - the observable features of the Moon (3min) Part 2 - the apparent daily motion of the Moon (4min) Part 3 - the pattern of change in the Moon’s appearance/phases (11min) Education & Activity Guide:
Cosmic Colors: An Adventure Along the Spectrum (General Public; about 30 minutes) This show is great fun for the whole family. "Cosmic Colors" will take you on a wondrous journey across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Discover the many reasons for color—like why the sky is blue and why Mars is red. Take a tour within a plant leaf and journey inside the human eye. Investigate x-rays by voyaging to a monstrous black hole and then back at your doctor’s office. Explore the world of infrared in a roaring fire, and even discover what may have been the actual color of a dinosaur. Enjoy a wondrous journey through the world of color and beyond!
Two Small Pieces of Glass – The Amazing Telescope (Ages 10+, General Public; about 31 minutes) “Two Small Pieces of Glass – The Amazing Telescope” fulldome show follows two students as they interact with a female astronomer at a local star party. Along the way, the students learn the history of the telescope from Galileo’s modifications to a child’s spyglass — using two small pieces of glass — to the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy. Aiming to engage and appeal to audiences of all ages, the show explores the wonder and discovery made by astronomers throughout the last 400 years. While looking through the astronomer's telescope, explore the Galilean Moons, Saturn's rings, and spiral structure of galaxies, and learn about the discoveries of Galileo, Huygens, Newton, Hubble, and many others.
From Earth To The Universe (Ages 10+, 3rd through 12th Grade; about 35 minutes) The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths, and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity’s oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today’s grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience “From Earth to the Universe.”
Seeing! (Ages 10+, 5th through 12th Grade; about 30 minutes) The story of light, sight, and vision. We begin with a photon’s creation inside a distant star and follow its immense journey across the galaxy into the eye of a young stargazer. As the photon enters, we learn about the structures of the eye & their functions and we ride along the optic nerve traveling the pathways of our brain, resulting in an image in our mind. Narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Workbook available for download
Sunstruck (Ages 8+, 3rd through 12th Grade; about 25 minutes) Travel back to the beginning of time and experience the birth of the Sun. Explore the science of our Sun like never before! This feature displays information on the Sun, parts/layers, space weather, its impact on Earth and much more. Discover how it came to support life, how it threatens life as we know it, and how its energy will one day fade away!! Audiences will gain an enhanced understanding of the Sun and how it impacts our world. Education & resource guide available for download
Cosmology (Ages 14+, General Public; about 35 minutes) The study of our universe is as old as time, yet our understanding of the origins and nature of the universe is less than 100 years old. From our earliest theories about the size of the universe to the big bang theory, this show details how our understanding has evolved over time.
The Hot and Energetic Universe (Ages 10+, 6th Grade through Adult; about 30 minutes) “The Hot and Energetic Universe” presents the fascinating world of high energy astrophysics. High energy astrophysics plays a key role in understanding the universe, as 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. Come and learn about your hot and energetic universe!
Out There — The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds (Ages 6+, 3rd Grade through Adult; about 30 minutes) For thousands of years, mankind thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Thanks to our curiosity, imagination, and urge to explore, we now know that planets like our Earth are nothing special in the cosmos. The Sun is just one ordinary star among hundreds of billions in our galaxy, the Milky Way. With the world’s most powerful telescopes, we are able to explore more and more of the Universe. What we have found so far has surpassed even the wildest expectations of scientists as well as authors of science fiction. Most stars have planets — it turns out they are more common than we thought. A huge diversity of different worlds is out there, just waiting to be discovered.
The Sun, Our Living Star (Ages 3rd Grade through Adult; about 25 minutes) Discover the secrets of our star in this planetarium show and experience never-before-seen images of the Sun’s violent surface in immersive fulldome format. The passage of the Sun’s fiery disc across the sky — day by day, month by month — was the only way to keep track of time for countless past civilizations. Don’t be fooled by the terminology; although it is a typical dwarf star, the Sun consumes 600 million tons of hydrogen each second and is 500 times as massive as all the planets combined. Seizure warning: There is a portion of the show with flashing lights.
Mayan Archaeoastronomy: Observe the Universe *(Ages 10+, grades 5-12,* General Public; about 25 minutes)** Experience the cosmos through the eyes of the ancient Mayans! In a feast of colors and sounds, take a tour of six Mayan temples: San Gervasio, Chichen Itzá, Uxmal, Edzná, Palenque and Bonampak. Dive into the Mayan world of knowledge about the importance of the orientations of temples in relation to the movement of some stars like the Sun, the Moon and Venus.
Mexica Archaeoastronomy: Between Space and Time *(Ages 10+, grades 5-12,* General Public; about 25 minutes)** Through impressive immersive scenarios, "Mexica Archaeoastronomy: between space and time" illustrates the important role played by astronomical observation for the evolution of pre-Hispanic cultures in central Mexico. The Mexicans used the calendrical and astronomical knowledge inherited by their predecessor cultures to found the capital of their empire: Tenochtitlan. Vibrant colors, shapes, and sounds transport the viewer to one of the most important cultures that, to this day, still lives in the heart and skin of the Mexican people.
Exoplanets (Ages 12+, General Public; about 30 minutes) Learn about planets beyond our solar system and techniques astronomers use to find them. Winner of the Associazione dei Planetari Italiani Planetarium Video Competition.

Legacy Programs

A variety of pre-recorded planetarium programs are available for private shows. These programs may have specific educational objectives and are targeted to specific age groups. Program lengths vary but are generally 35 to 45 minutes. Below are the descriptions of currently available programs.

	The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket (Ages K through 4th Grade; about 40 minutes) Adventure through the solar system in the Cardboard Rocket! Travel the Solar System with two children aided by a talking astronomy book. Visit the Sun, the planets, the Moon and more. The narration track was edited in 2007 for the reclassification of Pluto to dwarf planet. References to "smallest planet," "ninth planet," and "last planet" were removed and Pluto has simply termed a planet in view of it being a new category of planets. Education & Activity Guide: Original 1985, Grade K-5, NGSS connection
	Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens (Ages 10+, General Public; about 45 minutes) The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn unveiled worlds of vibrant wonder. Discover the mystery of Saturn's rings, explore moons with atmospheres and lakes and even frozen over oceans blowing geysers into space. See the differences in the makeup of the bodies around Saturn, an interacting system of a gas giant and moons. Sculpted surfaces of the moons from mission data were carefully overlaid with actual imagery from Cassini for this show. Fly along as if actually on the Cassini mission in person with incredible views of the cliffs, craters, geysers and more.
	Black Holes (Ages 11+, General Public; about 45 minutes) Narrated by John de Lancie (known for his role as "Q" in Star Trek TV series) "Black Holes" takes you on a journey through one of the most mystifying, awe-inspiring phenomena in the universe: a Black Hole. Where do they come from? Where do they go? How do we find them? Is there one on Earth's horizon? What is "spaghettification"?! Our journey also visits super-massive black holes of unfathomable size at the central point of galaxies. These hidden monsters constrain their entire galaxies around them in a kaleidoscopic gravitational dance. Voyage through the galaxies in search of the answers to explain these riddles of nature in Black Holes!
	Extreme Planets (Ages 11+, General Public; about 45 minutes) Just over two decades ago there were no known planets orbiting sunlike stars outside our own solar system. Since 1995, however, fast-paced developments in detection techniques have revealed hundreds of extrasolar planets--with the pace of discovery increasing all the time. Hundreds of extra-solar planets have been discovered both near and far from Earth. Discover what makes a planet 'Earth-like'. Explore planets that are unlike any we have seen before. Though it will be years before we have direct images of the surfaces of these worlds, this show gives us an idea of what they might look like - up close and personal! Extreme planets aren't science fiction anymore, but science fact. Education & Activity Guide: Science content
	Galaxies (Ages 5th Grade through Adult; about 45 minutes) "Galaxies" is a journey through the Milky Way and the universe beyond. This show demonstrates the overall structure of our universe on the grandest of all scales. Incorporating spectacular photography from observatories around the world, "Galaxies" looks at the interactions between galaxies, the varied structure of galaxies, galaxies with very active star-forming regions, and much more. Also investigated are super-massive black holes, the birth and death of stars, and the age of the universe. The program also includes a look at the stars and constellations visible in the summer sky, including a glimpse of the stars as seen from Earth's southern hemisphere. Written by the award-winning writer/host of PBS' The Creation of the Universe, Timothy Ferris and Narrated by Patrick Stewart
	The Cowboy Astronomer (Ages All Ages; about 37 minutes) A cowboy gives his perspective of the night sky and the things he has learned over a lifetime stargazing. Content includes fun stories and "Indian" legends. Narrated by TV & radio personality, western humorist and cowboy poet Baxter Black. He talks about star colors and temperatures - and we see how blue stars are hotter than red stars. We learn about young stars and supernovae, and what various cultures called the Pleiades. Education & Activity Guide: Science content
	The People (Ages All Ages; about 45 minutes) "The People" begins with a beautiful Indian myth about the creation of the world and proceeds in successive legends through the creation of the sun, the stars, the blemishes on the moon, the rainbow, and the seasons. Some of the legends are profound; some are humorous. All are deeply touching in the view they give us of the first Americans living in harmony with all of nature --living as brothers and sisters with all living things. The myths retold in "the People" come from 16 different Indian nations, spread across the breadth of the continent. Includes Creation content.
	Star Of Wonder (Ages All Ages; about 35 minutes) Star of Wonder scientifically explains an actual celestial event of antiquity which may have been recorded as the Star of Bethlehem. This holiday show examines the historical and astronomical events surrounding the birth of Jesus Nazareth. Many celestial events occurred during that time period, and still more were theorized by many cultures. Several questions arise regarding the event, including What was the event? Who saw it? When did it occur? Celebrate the holidays under the stars - of two millennia ago.