Outreach Traveling Planetarium (Also see our
School/Library Outreach STEM Programs and
In-House Planetarium Shows)
Schools, scout groups, after-school programs, and libraries, may request portable planetarium shows from New England Sci-Tech. Bookings depend on staff availability, planetarium availability, your room and audience size, and distance to your site.
[SUMMER NOTE: we are not able to travel with the planetarium during the summer because of a full in-house schedule.]
Travel Distance
We usually take requests
only within the Metrowest Boston area because extra travel time cuts into our busy schedule. The only dates we can usually do is Monday, Wednesday, or Friday mornings, 7:30 am to 1:30 pm, which includes setup and packing time. Occasionally we can do an evening program for school STEM fairs.
Minimum Room Size
You must provide open floor space of at least 20×20 feet and 11 foot high, such as a gym or auditorium. Students will sit on the floor on a large floor mat inside the dome.
Room Preparation
You must be sure the floor has been vacuumed clean before we set up -- no sand, dirt, or food spills. There must be no objects hanging down that would touch or tear the dome, such as lights, pipes, or sprinker heads.
Play a 40-sec video of Outreach Planetarium Setup
Dome Capacity
For a class with 1 teacher, there is room for approximately 26 elementary school children, 22 middle school children, or 16 high-schoolers or adults. The dome has a double door vestibule for easy access standing up. The dome is made of a fire retardant material and easily flipped up and over the group for emergency exit.
Electrical Requirements
We use a box fan, HD video projector, amplified speakers, and a computer, all drawing a maximum load of 12 amps. They will run on a household 15 amp circuit, if necessary, but most schools will have a 20 amp circuit available. We will need an outlet within 25 feet of the planetarium.
Shows
Our most requested and popular program is a 40 min time block with the 10 min multimedia show NASA's Journey to Mars followed by a 15 min live tour around the night sky by the astronomer with Stellarium to examine planets, the moon, constellations, nebulae, and galaxies. Another 5 to 10 min includes passing around a 5-lb iron meteorite from the asteroid belt so students can hold a rock from space older than any rock on Earth.
We have a wide variety of 25-minute multimedia shows about planets, asteroids, dark matter, particle physics, airplanes, vision, and telescopes, etc. Our shorter 6 to 10-minute shows are combined with a live Stellarium star show: Losing The Dark about light pollution's effects on wildlife and human health, Journey to the Center of the Galaxy about the Milky Way and black holes, and NASA's Journey to Mars about the New Horizons space mission, and Two Small Pieces of Glass about how the telescope has improved our knowledge of the universe through history. All shows are geared toward grades 4 and up. Our “live show” about constellations and the night sky uses a star planetarium software. Please plan on a 35 to 45-minute block to allow time for a group to enter and get settled, for show orientation, and to exit at the end.
Click here to see complete list of shows we offer
Additional Options
When you rent our planetarium, we can also bring other educational items if available at the time for no charge, such as meteorites, a dinosaur egg, pieces of NASA space gear, or something pertinent to the topic you request. Please supply a small table for these items. We would like to offer educational handouts and company brochures for the students to take at the end.
Show Pricing
The base price for a visit, $290, includes 60 min setup time and 30 min packing time, travel within 10 miles of our Natick location, and a single screening of a stocked show from our library and/or a live educational stars/constellations show. Additional screenings are $55 each. Show blocks are typically 40 minutes, depending on your schedule. Email us to discuss what topic(s) or show(s) you would like.
Additional Travel Pricing
No travel fee within 10 miles of our Natick facility.
Because time on the road and lost revenue time at our facility, we must charge for each mile beyond the first 10 at $5/mile ($2.50/mi each way).
Mileage is calculated with Google maps using the most efficient route the astronomer will take from our Natick location.
Try It Out
If you or your teachers have never been inside a portable planetarium show before, we recommend that you try it out before renting. Email us to arrange for a free show for you and some of your teachers at our Natick location.
RENT OUR PLANETARIUM: What we will need from your school
— Specific date and start time for each show (usually allow a 45 min block per show.)
— A place to park to unload near the building and a ramp to wheel in a cart with everything on it.
— A room large enough to hold the dome (oversize classroom, lecture hall, or gym).
— Floor must be vacuumed and/or mopped clean before we arrive. Be sure there are no protruding nails or other snags that could rip the planetarium. If we need to clean the floor for you, we will add $50 to the price and it will delay the start of your program.
— AC power within 25 feet.
— For any additional educational items requested please provide a small table.
— Please review the Planetarium Guidelines with students and insist on respectful behavior.
— Payment from the school for show(s) and travel as agreed at time of booking. Payment by check, on or before the date of the event, made out to “New England Sci-Tech.”
To book an outreach event,
first read all information on this page, then
reserve a date/time slot from the calendar list at the bottom of this page, then fill out the
School Outreach Form. If there is no pre-scheduled time slot, email with your requested specific date(s) and time(s).