2012: Mayan Prophecies
Explore The Prophecies Of The Mayan Astronomers! Visit the Classic Mayan cities of Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Tikal, and Palenque to discover how the Maya aligned their temples to watch their sky gods and used interlocking calendars to record the past and predict the future. Explore pyramids towering above the rainforest, designed as observatories to follow the sun. Experience the apocalypse of the Maya and discover how our fate in 2012 may be foretold in Mayan Prophecies.
WARNING: This show contains a sacrificial ritual scene. Viewer discretion is advised.
Run time: 35 minutes
Accidental Astronauts
Follow the adventures of Cy and Annie and their dog Armstrong as they embark on an unexpected journey into space!
Explore the Earth, Sun and Moon system with a wise-cracking spaceship computer. See an asteroid crash into the Moon. Bounce along with them on the lunar surface. Get up close and personal with a solar storm. And gain a new appreciation of our home planet.
Run time: 35 minutes
Are We Alone?
Have you ever looked up into the nighttime sky and wondered if there was anyone our there among the stars? Are We Alone explores the tools and methods used by Astronomers, both professional and amateur as they try to unlock the cosmic question.
Grade Level: 4th and higher
Run time: 25 minutes
Astronaut
The exploration of space is the greatest endeavor that humankind has ever undertaken. What does it take to be part of this incredible journey? What does it take to become an astronaut?
"Astronaut," the latest immersive planetarium show to be created by the National Space Centre, 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 everything that space has to throw at him.
Presented in stunning high definition 360-degree full-dome video and explosive surround sound, Astronaut is an experience like nothing on Earth.
"Astronaut" is preceded by an Apollo 11 tribute show. "Astronaut" is supported by: NASA NY Space Grant, Department of Physics & Astronomy, C.O.V.E., the Upstate Institute, and the Department of Biology.
Grade Level: 4th and higher
Run time: 30 minutes
Back to the Moon For Good
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.
Who will win the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE? The audience is taken through a successful launch, landing and lunar surface travel. The show ends with a stunning glimpse of a plausible scenario for our future on the Moon.
Black Holes
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? Using the latest in full-dome, 3D animation visualization technology. We invite you to explore with us the science and mystery of “Black Holes.”
Run time: 37 minutes
Cosmic Colors
"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. You will even see the actual color of a dinosaur — based on recent evidence. Get ready for an amazing adventure under a rainbow of cosmic light!
Run time: 25 minutes
Dawn of the Space Age
Relive the excitement of the early days of space exploration, from the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik, to the magnificent lunar landings and privately operated space flights. Be immersed and overwhelmed with this most accurate historic reconstruction of man’s first steps into space. Who were the men and women who took part in these death-defying days? Witness their drive, their passion, and their perseverance to explore in "Dawn of the Space Age."
Run time: 35 minutes
Dinosaurs at Dusk
A learning adventure of a father and his teenage daughter Lucy, who share a fascination for all things that fly.
You’ll travel back in time to meet the pterosaurs and the ancestors of modern-day birds: the feathered dinosaurs. Lucy and her father navigate from continent to continent, looking for clues about the origins of flight.
When time runs out they experience first-hand the cataclysmic “last day” of the dinosaurs.
Science content includes topics such as continental drift, proper motion of stars, asteroids and impacts, extinctions and the convergent development of flight among species.
Run time: 30 minutes
Extreme Planets
For centuries, humanity has wondered whether we are alone in the universe. Now, we are finally one step closer to knowing the answer. With the discovery in 1995 of the first planet orbiting another star, we now know that planets are not unique to our own Solar System. In fact, these "extrasolar" planets now appear to be quite common. We'll explore what makes a planet "Earth-like" in the first place, and take an immersive full-dome tour of several worlds that just might fit the conditions we're looking for. From water worlds to molten landscapes, inhabitable moons to planets with multiple suns, these exotic worlds aren't just science fiction anymore!
Sponsored by: Dean of Faculty Office, Department of Physics & Astronomy, and Information Technology Services
Run time: 23 minutes
Galileo: The Power of the Telescope
Two eyes and two pieces of glass revolutionized human understanding 400 years ago. The eyes belonged to Galileo Galilei, and the curved pieces of glass were the lenses of his telescope. In "Galileo: The Power of the Telescope," you'll learn Galileo's personal and powerful story, and explore how his discoveries displaced long-held views about the universe. Narrated by Dava Sobel, author of the award-winning biography Galileo's Daughter.
Sponsored by: NASA - NY Space Grant, Core- Scientific Perspectives & Department of Physics and Astronomy @ Colgate
Run time: 30 minutes
Ice Worlds
The delicate balance between ice, water and the existence of life has been a topic of exploration and discovery in science for generations. In travels to the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our planet, we'll examine the ecosystems that live and thrive there and see how their survival is connected with our own. Beyond Earth, we'll see how the existence of ice shapes the landscape and the natural systems on other planets and moons in our solar system. Narrated by Emily Watson, star of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. Produced in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, with the support of the National Science Foundation.
Run time: 23 minutes
Invaders of Mars
Under the care of Emmy award-winning space artist, Don Davis, this beautifully crafted show highlights our ongoing exploration of Mars. We explore the Martian surface as seen by Earth's various spacecraft "invaders" and use the data gathered to explore the red planet as only CGI can. We fly over the great chasms, canyons and volcanoes, descend amid the ice of a Martian polar cap and are buffeted by swirling dust devils. Blinded by the planet-wide storms which engulf this world from time to time, we emerge to discover a whole new world which is the red planet Mars. The invaders have landed. Narrated by Tom Baker of the BBC's Dr. Who.
Run time: 24 minutes
Let It Snow
"Let it Snow" features a new variety of festive classics from Frank Sinatra and Chuck Berry to Burl Ives and Brenda Lee, and includes a stunning multi-media finale by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The soundtrack is visually enhanced with thematic animation, special effects and all-dome scenery in the audiovisual setting of the Ho Tung Visualization Lab.
Run time: 30 minutes
Life: A Cosmic Story
"Life: A Cosmic Story" begins in a redwood forest, with the sounds of wind and life. One redwood looms large, until we approach its branches and enter one of its leaves, adjusting our perspective to microscopic scales inside a cell.
We see a pared-down version of its inner workings, learning about the process of photosynthesis and the role of DNA. This scene sets the stage for the story of life. We then leap backward billions of years to the origin of elements themselves. The early Universe contained mostly dark matter, which drew hydrogen and helium together to form the first stars. The carbon and heavier elements required by living organisms came from generations of stars. We continue our journey, diving into the Milky Way Galaxy of several billion years ago. We approach a region in which stars are forming, where we encounter a protoplanetary disk surrounding our newborn Sun. We arrive at the young Earth, splashing down in deep water to visit a hydrothermal vent and to examine the formation of organic molecules. We then travel above a volcanic island to encounter an enriched "hot puddle" of water, in which nucleotides (building blocks of RNA and DNA) may have wrapped themselves in protective vesicles. Once life took hold, it radically changed our planet. Earth's early microorganisms created our oxygen atmosphere and may have also triggered a global ice age, causing temperatures to drop precipitously and nearly freezing out life on our planet.
We continue leaping forward in time, viewing the movement of continents and the changing environment for life, until we reach modern Earth. All life shares a common ancestry and common chemistry, all related at the molecular level. As we learn this, we pull away from individual images of life, and we end the show as we see their three-dimensional distribution form the double-helix strand of DNA. The audience is left immersed inside a representation of the structure of life's shared origins.
Run time: 25 minutes
The Little Star that Could
The Little Star That Could” is a story about Little Star, an average yellow star in search for planets of his own to protect and warm. 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.
Murder on the Ides
The Ho Tung Visualization Lab in coordination with the Classics department presents Murder on the Ides. March, 44 BCE was the most infamous day in Roman history. It's the day when the most celebrated Roman of all time, Gaius Julius Caesar, was brutally murdered by assassins. Combined with green screen technology and fulldome animations Colgate students, staff, and faculty produced this full dome show to uncover the mysteries surrounding this fateful day. Narrated by Classics professor, Robert Garland.
Sponsored by: Classics Department, Ho Tung Visualization Lab, Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, and Information and Technology Services
Natural Selection
Join the young Charles Darwin on an adventurous voyage of exploration circumnavigating the world with the HMS Beagle. In Victorian times, many physical phenomena were already discovered and described by natural laws, but life's most eloquent mechanism was still unknown: How could new species arise to replace those lost in extinction? It was time for someone to stand up and come forth with a naturalist explanation of this mystery of mysteries. Witness the thrill of scientific discovery by seeing the world through Darwin's eyes, make observations of the most beautiful natural scenery and let the pieces of the scientific puzzle slowly but surely fall into place. Allow Darwin himself to reveal this simple and most beautiful mechanism that explains the Evolution of all Life on Earth: Natural Selection, the single most wonderful idea anyone has ever had.
Sponsored by: Dean of the Faculty, Department of Geology, Department of Biology, Core: Scientific Perspectives, Department of Physics & Astronomy, and Information Technology Services.
Run time: 35 minutes
New Horizons
From breathtaking landscapes to violent volcanic eruptions to the sheer beauty of Saturn's rings, "New Horizons" immerses audiences in an unforgettable all-dome-video experience. Explore the planets and moons of the solar system in a majestic journey through our celestial neighborhood. For the first time, audiences will travel down to the surface of all the planets, and experience what life would be like from those brave new worlds. Our journey begins as we follow a comet as it travels through interplanetary space. On each of our exotic ports of call, real data and images from modern space probes is transformed into stunning photo-realistic 3D animation.
Run time: 25 minutes
Paradise
What would you do with paradise in your lifetime? Civilization has played a major role on Earth's environment. Can we live in harmony with plants and animals? What will you do with paradise?
Explore these questions and how the environmental movement started with our first planetarium show produced at Colgate University.
This project was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and produced by Claudia Johnson, a teacher from Cazenovia High School and Kayla Sutherland, a Colgate student.
Run time: 25 minutes
Raising Alexandria
Twenty-three centuries ago, Alexander the Great founded a magnificent city in Egypt called Alexandria. It was considered Egypt's most important trading metropolis on the Mediterranean and was filled with hundreds of palaces, temples, and glorious landmarks like the Great Library and the lighthouse: Pharaohs. All traces of the ancient monuments have vanished, and today most parts of the ancient city lie in the Mediterranean seabed. We recall the memories of this ancient capital lost to time in Raising Alexandria.
Robot Explorers
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 who have explored in our place and experience what they have taught us about our solar system
Sea Monsters
Journey 80 million years back in time to an age when mighty dinosaurs dominated the land - and an equally astonishing assortment of ferocious creatures swarm, hunted, and fought for survival beneath the vast, mysterious prehistoric seas. Stunning, photo-realistic imagery recreates the perilous underwater realm of two young, dolphin-sized marine reptiles called Dolichorhynchops, or Dollies, and follows their incredible journey through waters ruled by some of the most awesome predators ever to prowl the Earth's oceans. Interweaving groundbreaking fossil finds from around the globe with cutting-edge computer-generated recreations, National Geographic's powerful storytelling immerses you in the life-or-death drama of an age when monsters ruled the seas! With original music by Peter Gabriel and The Footnote, and narrated by Liev Schreiber.
Sponsored by: Department of Geology and the Department of Information Technology Services
Run time: 30 minutes
Secret of the Cardboard Rocket
The program features the daring exploits of a young girl and boy who make a cardboard box and decide to turn it into a rocket to visit the sun, moon and planets. The characters take along everything they need, including balloons full of air and an astronomy book that talks.
Sponsored by: NASA NY Space Grant, Department of Geology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, C.O.V.E., Upstate Institute, Division of Natural Sciences & Math, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Run time: 30 minutes
Seven Wonders
Turn back the pages of time and witness the ancient wonders of the world as they appeared thousands of years ago. Travel to Egypt to visit the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Pyramids, to Persia to see the original Mausoleum, to Babylon to explore the fabled Hanging Gardens, to Greece to tour the Temples of Zeus and Artemis, and to Rhodes to stand in the shadow of the towering Colossus. We will investigate the theories of how these wonders were created, and get a glimpse of some of the universe's greatest wonders.
Run time: 31 minutes
Stars of the Pharaohs
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 ancient Egyptians 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.
Run time: 35 minutes
The Seasons Reasons Show
"The Seasons Reasons Show" (K through 2nd grade) Marvin Short, Jake Jupiter, and Laura Twist tell us about weather, the water cycle, clouds, seasons, constellations, and the moon. Voices for the characters are narrated by voice talent from the TV cartoon series "Dragonball Z."
Run time: 25 minutes
Two Small Pieces of Glass
The show follows two students as they interact with a female astronomer at a local star party. Along the way the students learn how telescopes work, the history of telescopes, and major discoveries made by these instruments.
Run time: 24 minutes
Violent Universe
The beauty of a starlit sky conceals the violent forces at work within our universe. From the upheaval of a giant star that explodes to release its material into space, to a future encounter between the Earth and a large asteroid that is too close for comfort, we will witness the forces that hold the universe together and occasionally try to rip it apart. Narrated by Patrick Stewart of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the X-Men films.
Run time: 31 minutes
Wonders of the Universe
Peer deep into space through the eyes of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and travel back billions of years in time to witness the birth of the universe. On this breathtaking excursion, you'll witness the formation of galaxies and explore some of the most wondrous nebulae and astronomical structures yet discovered. As your travels continue, you'll fly deep into our own Milky Way galaxy and return home to Earth on a spectacular tour through the solar system.
Run time: 24 minutes