Here are brief descriptions of the movies Zacheis Planetarium has available for school groups, scouts, home-schoolers, etc., as well as public shows. All movies are intended for general audiences. The grade levels given below are only suggested guidelines. Teachers of any grade level may request any movie in the library. (All movies are full dome except for “Max Goes to the Moon”.)
Previews and even full movies for many of these can be viewed at the
TEACHERS: Educator’s guides are available for those films marked by a * below. The guides provide activities related to the film that you can do in your classroom before and/or after coming to the planetarium. Some also provide information on National Science Education Standards. Just ask for an educator’s guide when you make your reservation, and if one is available, it will be emailed to you in pdf format. OR, to get them much more quickly, download them directly from Spitz’s website:
All movies are available in English. Those with (+Spanish) after the title are also available in Spanish.
Fractal Explorations (5th grade and up, 35 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 4, 7:45; Apr 1, 5:15 Fractal Explorations is an original production of Dr. Robert Astalos and Zacheis Planetarium. Produced using only free software available to everyone on the internet, it describes what fractals are, how they are made, where they can be found in nature, and what they have to do with infinity. Filled with original fractal images and sequences, it is a feast for the eyes as well as a workout for the brain. You can see a . (You can also watch the .) From Earth to the Universe (7th grade and up, 30 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 28, 7:00; Mar 18, 5:15 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 learnabout 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. Solar Superstorms (5th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 10, 7:45; Apr 29, 5:15 Solar Superstorms is a major new production that takes viewers into the tangle of magnetic fields and superhot plasma that vent the Sun’s rage in dramatic flares, violent solar tornadoes, and the largest eruptions in the solar system: Coronal Mass Ejections. The show features one of the most intensive efforts ever made to visualize the inner workings of the sun, including a series of groundbreaking scientific visualizations computed on the giant new supercomputing initiative, Blue Waters, based at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), University of Illinois. Brace yourself for the onslaught of the next … Solar Superstorm. Bella Gaia (4th grade and up, 28 minutes) Scheduled publicshowings: Jan 21, 7:45 Bella Gaia is an unprecedented audiovisual experience that combines NASA satellite imagery of Earth, time lapse nature photography, and cultural heritage footage. Inspired by astronauts who spoke of the life changing power of seeing the Earth from space, director-composer Kenji Williams’ award winning Bella Gaia successfully simulates the Overview Effect from space flight, by using NASA supercomputer data-visualizations to explore the relationship between humans and nature through time and space. Bella Gaia is a “breathtaking audio-visual exploration that will transform your view of life on earth” (AZ Weekly) with a “sound and visual environment that mesmerizes audiences” – (Hollywood Progressive) Dream To Fly (4th grade and up, 35 minutes) Scheduled public showings:Jan 21, 7:00; Mar 18, 4:30 Since the beginning of history, people have dreamed of flying. Tales of mythical dragon flights thrilled ancient dreamers. Storytellers wove airy fantasies of magic carpetrides. Leonardo da Vinci stoked the dreams of flight with his fantastic drawings and through his eyes, we learned to look to nature for the secrets of flight. When Montgolfier took to the skies in a balloon, the dream finally became reality. The Wright Brothers swept us up to the sky and started a revolution. It wasn’t long before our immense and challenging dreams of soaring through the air became an everyday occurence. Dream To Fly is a poetic and touching story of aviation development through the ages. It presents the significant milestones on our route to conquering the skies — both in terms of technological breakthroughs, as well as our perceptions of flying itself. Exploding Universe (4th grade and up, 33 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 22, 4:30; Mar 31, 7:00 The universe we see today is the product of explosive events. They have even shaped our very existence. When giant stars explode as “supernovae” they seed the galaxies with heavy elements that make planets and lifepossible. Some collisions we are only just now starting to understand. For example, when Black Holes collide, they can throw off some of the most energetic particles known, ripping and warping space as they go. But other outbursts have profound effects as well, such as the beauty and power of supervolcanoes which have contributed to the transformation of our world into the life bearing oasis we now enjoy. The smallest of explosions, such as the forced impact of high energy particles, can echo the foundational events of the early universe. As the universe has transformed into the structure we live in now, even the most elementary particles have endured. This show follows the path of one of these “particles,” a proton, as it participates in nature’s astounding events of rebirth and renewal. Extreme Planets (4th grade and up, 33 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 4, 4:30; May 5, 7:00 Just over a decade ago there were no known planets orbiting sunlike stars outside our own solarsystem. Since 1995, however, fast-paced developments in detection techniques have revealed hundreds of extrasolar planets–with the pace of discovery increasing all the time. 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! In this original production we’ll explore the idea of what “Earth-like” even means, and take an immersive journey to several worlds that may stretch the imagination, but aren’t science fiction anymore. Hubble Vision 2 (4th grade and up, 30 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 19, 4:30 Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided incredible images in unprecedented detail to astronomers, and made an astonishing array of discoveries — from nearby objects in the solar system to the most distant galaxies at limits of the observable universe. Hubble Vision 2 is a fascinating tour of the cosmos — from Earth orbit. We catch glimpses ofsolar system objects, including the Moon and Venus; clouds on dusty Mars; Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s crash into Jupiter; storms on Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; and the faraway worlds of Pluto and Quaoar. Beyond the solar system, we explore protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula, and regions of starbirth across the cosmos. We witness the deaths of stars like our Sun; the cataclysmic aftermath of supernovae in the Crab Nebula; and the expanding rings around Supernova 1987a. We see breathtaking views of colliding galaxies; jets shooting from active galactic nuclei, powered by supermassive black holes; the eerie effects of gravitational lenses; and deep-field views of the most distant galaxies ever seen. Lamps of Atlantis (4th grade and up, 41 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 10, 7:00; Apr 29, 4:30 Our search for the lost continent of Atlantis takes us on a journey through the astronomical knowledge and understanding of the ancient Greeks. How did the constellations get theirnames? What different patterns did ancient cultures see in the sky? Was Atlantis a real place? Did it really sink into the sea? We will uncover clues to help us solve this age-old mystery. Origins of Life (4th grade and up, 23 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 11, 7:00; Apr 8, 5:15 Origins of Life deals with some of the most profound questions of life science: the origins of life and the human search for life beyond Earth. Starting with the Big Bang, in chronological order, the show deals with the prebiotic chemistry in the Universe, the formation of stars, formation of solar systems, and the first life on Earth. Origins of Life then covers the great extinctions, as well as our search for (primitive) life beyond planet Earth. Origins of Life is an inspirational journey through time — and a celebration of life on Earth. It features many recent discoveries related to life science, demonstrating that if there was ever a time that science made its greatest advances, it’s right now!* Perfect Little Planet (K through 4th grades, 38 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none Discover our solar system through a new set of eyes – a family from another star system seeking the perfect vacation spot. Fly over the surface of Pluto, our best known Dwarf Planet. Dive down the ice cliffs of Miranda. Sail through the rings of Saturn. Feel the lightning storms at Jupiter. And walk on the surface of Mars. Which destination would you choose? This is the solar system journey for space travelers of all ages. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens (4th grade and up, 37 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 28, 7:45; Apr 1, 4:30 Once a planet of great mystery, now we know more than ever before about its amazing system of rings, moons, and storms thanks to modern robotic space pioneers. In this modern 36-minute production, audiences can experience an immersive exploration of one of the most amazing and dynamic planetary collections of our solar system. From its bizarre moons with mysteriousfeatures, to the millions of icy particles that compose the enigmatic rings, this is the three-dimensional tour of the Saturnian system that goes beyond the CG experience – it’s like flying piggyback on the Cassini spacecraft! Ultimate Universe (4th grade and up, 32 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 19, 5:15; Apr 21, 7:45 From the edge of space and time, through vast fields of wondrous galaxies, to the majesty of our solar system, this show will take audiences on a grand tour of the universe and let them experience its most provocative secrets. A joint effort between Evans & Sutherland and the Clark Planetarium, Ultimate Universe is a three dimensional journey from the edge of the universe through space and time to reach our home planet, witnessing the major components of the cosmos along the way. Seasonal Star Gazing (4th grade and up, 7 or 14 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 11, 5:15 (after DARK) Find out more about “what’s up tonight” in just a few minutes than somepeople do in a lifetime! Hop through constellations, learn cool star names, and groove to planetarium space music in this fulldome audiovisual experience. Each Seasonal Stargazing show highlights the most prominent and easy-to-find stars and constellations of the season. Audience members see and hear star names and constellations, and learn to star-hop for popular deep-sky objects. There is a separate show for each season (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall), and two versions of each: short (7 minutes) or long (14 minutes). Astronaut 2012 (3rd grade and up, 23 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 3, 7:00; Apr 22, 4:30 Takes you from Earth into space… and beyond. Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Discover the perils that lurk in space as we subject ‘Chad’, our test astronaut, to everythingthat space has to throw at him. Back to the Moon: For Good! (6th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 5, 5:15; Apr 7, 7:00 The show opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We see what that era of landers and orbiters taught us about our nearest neighbor including the discovery of the Moon’s origin, composition, structure and the accessibility of raw materials on its surface. The Google Lunar XPRIZE is introduced as the largest incentivized competition to date, designed to democratize space and create new opportunities for eventual human and robotic presence on the Moon. We see the engineering and innovation steps taken by the internationally distributed teams competing to land a spacecraft on the Moon and vie for additional prizes. We highlight the human spirit of competition and collaboration as teams take on this audacious challenge. * Bad Astronomy (4th grade and up, 46 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 11, 4:30Were the Apollo missions a hoax? Have aliens landed on Earth? Can you tell your future by the stars? Prepare to debunk pseudoscience head-on with Bad Astronomy: Myths and Misconceptions. Based on the popular book and website, Bad Astronomy offers a unique approach to learning about the cosmos. Join the Bad Astronomer Phil Plait as he takes a critical look at popular myths and misconceptions. The Body Code (6th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 5, 4:30 Fly through the carotid artery; explore the eye, brain, ear, and heart. Then, shrink into a cell to see its nucleus and DNA within. Discover how DNA programs the body’s cells to form the circulatory and nervous systems. Then watch from inside as we use lasers to fight disease at the cellular level. Escher’s Universe (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 26 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 25, 7:45; Apr 15, 5:15 Based on the life and work of M. C. Escher, this show will take us to the artist’s studio where his mosticonic works are displayed. From this intimate and emotional place, we’ll visit Escher’s particular universe and we will be surprised by his ability to join Science and Art. He uses mathematics, astronomy, optics, crystallography and geometry in his creations to artistically explain very complex concepts addressed by Cosmology. Experience the Aurora (4th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 26, 5:15; Apr 28, 7:45 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 wrap-around display in the full-dome theater. Stars of the Pharaohs (4th grade and up, 35 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 29, 5:15 Travel to ancient Egypt to see how science was used to tell time, make a workable calendar, and align huge buildings. You’ll learn about the connection the ancientEgyptians felt with the stars and various astronomical phenomena. And thanks to the time Digital Theater’s production team spent on location in Egypt taking photographs and measurements, you’ll see some of the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world recreated in their original splendor. * Supervolcanoes (4th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 17, 7:00; May 6, 4:30 An immersive planetarium show that looks back at rare classes of eruptions that have marshaled the energy that lurks, like a sleeping dragon, beneath the surface of planet Earth. The program moves beyond Earth to explore the impact of giant volcanic eruptions around our solar system. Undiscovered Worlds: The Search Beyond Our Sun (4th grade and up, 30 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 17, 7:45; May 6, 5:15 Explores a timeless question: Do other planets like Earth exist? Travel to distant stars and fly up close to exotic planets. Experience the science shifting our perspectives onhumanity’s place in the cosmos. Robot Explorers (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 25 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 12, 5:15; Apr 21, 7:00 Near the end of the twentieth century, we began launching unmanned probes into the far reaches of the solar system. What they discovered was amazing and in some cases unexpected. Now after dozens of probes have been deployed, the exploration continues. New space missions are underway, and many of these robust spacecraft are still operational, beaming their knowledge back to Earth every day. We will pay tribute to these robots that have explored in our place and experience what they have taught us about our solar system. Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet (4th grade and up, 23 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 29, 4:30 Travel through space and time in a fulldome production that makes you look at Earth in a whole new way. A sweeping geological journey, Earthquake explores the forces that transform the surface of our planet.Fly alongthe San Andreas Fault before diving into the planet’s interior.Journey back in time to witness the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the break-up of Pangaea 200 million years ago. Visit the sites of historical earthquakes from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Learn how scientists and engineers collaborate to help society prepare for a safer environment — and a safer future. Life: A Cosmic Story (4th grade and up, 26 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 3, 7:45; Apr 22, 5:15 How did life on Earth begin? Start your journey by shrinking down to enter a single redwood leaf, and discover that all life on Earth shares a common ancestry. Then travel through time to witness key events since the Big Bang—from the first stars to the formation of the Solar System—that set the stage for life. Along the way, you will see two scenarios for the dawn of life on early Earth, and discover how our planet has changed since those microscopic beginnings. Into the Deep (5th grade and up, 31minutes) Scheduled public showings: Jan 22, 5:15; Mar 31, 7:45 Dive with the pioneers of deep-sea research on their journeys of discovery, on the most famous submersibles in history, to come face-to-face with the fascinating creatures that survive where no life was ever expected – at the bottom of the oceans! The educational focus of this show is to present the exploration of the deep sea, including its geology, marine biology, and overall marine environment. * Oasis in Space (+Spanish) (1st grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 4, 5:15; May 5, 7:45 A startling and beautiful voyage through our universe, galaxy, and solar system in search of liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth. Dark (5th grade and up, 20 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Mar 11, 5:15 Explores the nature of dark matter, the missing 80% of the mass of the universe. The search for dark matter is the most pressing astrophysical problem of our time – the solution to which will help usunderstand why the Universe is as it is, where it came from, and how it has evolved over billions of years – the unimaginable depths of deep time, of which a human life is but a flickering instant. But in that instant, we can grasp its immensity and, through science, we can attempt to understand it. * Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 26, 4:30; Apr 28, 7:00 Audiences will be dazzled with striking, immersive animations of the formation of the early universe, star birth and death, the collision of giant galaxies, and a simulated flight to a super-massive black hole lurking at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Two Small Pieces of Glass (4th grade and up, 25 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 11, 7:45 Traces the history of the telescope from Galileo’s modifications to a child’s spyglass – using two small pieces of glass – to the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy. *Natural Selection (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 40 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 12, 4:30; Apr 7, 7:45 Celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. Join Darwin on his voyage with the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos Islands where he was inspired to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin himself explains the mechanism of natural selection, and supports it by showing many beautiful examples in nature. * Tales of the Maya Skies (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 33 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 25, 7:00; Apr 15, 4:30 Immerses the audience in Mayan astronomy, art and culture through a custom score and visuals. Inspires and educates through its description of the Maya’s accurate astronomical achievements and how astronomy connected them to the universe. * Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth’s Climate Engine (+Spanish) (4th grade and up, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: Feb 4,7:00; Apr 8, 4:30 With visualizations based on satellite monitoring data and advanced super-computer simulations, this cutting-edge production follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape our climate: the atmosphere, oceans, and the biosphere. It explores concepts and terms essential to understanding the climate: the relationship of Earth and Sun, life and the carbon cycle, plate tectonics and its role in the carbon cycle, comparison with Venus, and perspective on climate change. IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System (4th grade and up, 27 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none Investigates the boundary between our Solar System and the rest of our galaxy. Designed for visitors who want to learn more about science research, the show follows the creation of NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). * Zula Patrol: Down to Earth (+Spanish) (PreK – 4th grades, 24 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none While on a routinefossil-hunting expedition, the Zula Patrol turns up evidence that the villainous Deliria Delight has been traveling back in time to Earth’s prehistoric past to illegally dump her company’s toxic trash. In the process of finding her, the Zula Patrollers learn all about the formation and development of Earth and the life forms who call it home. Aligns with National Science Education Standards. The Moon (PreK – 1st grades, 20 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none The Moon introduces children to the observable features on the Moon’s surface, the apparent daily motion of the Moon through the sky, and the pattern of change in the Moon’s appearance (Moon phases). The Weather (PreK – 1st grades, 20 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none The Weather will help connect children to the weather around them by encouraging them to use their senses to observe weather. It will introduce children to many topics related to weather, including the basic cloud types and how they are associated withspecific weather conditions, the idea of weather forecasting, basic weather terms, instruments used to measure and study the weather, and the water cycle. Max Goes to the Moon (PreK – 3rd grades, 34 minutes) Scheduled public showings: none Recently produced by at the University of Colorado in Boulder, “Max” is not a full-dome movie, but it is another one that appeals to younger audiences. It is an adaptation of the fictional, but science-based, children’s book of the same title by author and astronomer Dr. Jeffrey Bennett.