SEEING STARS
Gaze into cosmos at Bryan-Gooding Planetarium Sarah Roberts • Staff Reporter
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he lights dim to a soft red, and the ceiling above turns a charcoal black. As soon as the upbeat music fills the room, bright lights emerge, filling the ceiling with vivid patterns. This continues, ending with a movie music score as designs fade out with the music. As the only planetarium in the Jacksonville area, the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium is easily accessible to those interested in space. Located on the second floor of the Museum of Science and History off the Main Street Bridge, the planetarium offers informational shows, laser light shows and concerts. The $12 admission ticket includes one space or laser show. Additional shows can be purchased at the front desk for an extra $5, and each show is at least 25 minutes long. A show runs every hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and occasionally until 5 p.m. For
babysitters, BK students with younger siblings or teachers who need field trip ideas, the 11 a.m. show is ideal since the program is geared towards elementary school children. Though planetariums mainly present shows about stars and Earth’s atmosphere, the most popular events at the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium are the laser light shows, according to the staff. Filled with colorful animations and music from various genres, from pop songs to movie scores. These “Cosmic Concerts” can also be enhanced with laser glasses according to themosh.org. Currently, the planetarium is showcasing “Molecularium,” “Family Friendly Laser Show,” “Dynamic Earth,” “Skies Over Jacksonville” and “Oasis in Space” daily. They play the “Legends of the Night: Orion” and “Tour of the Solar System” on the weekends only. Shows at the
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planetarium can be ideal for getting together with a small group of friends or curing boredom on a slow weekend. I took a trip to the Planetarium the first week in January and enjoyed the shows I saw. “Molecularium” gave a simple childlike insight into the inner workings of molecules. The “Family Friendly Lazer Light Show” offered a fun variety of tunes ranging from Pop to Classical, while “Dynamic Earth” was filled with a message of how humans survive on Earth. The staff recommended to me that the best seats were towards the back, and they were not wrong. You could practically see everything from the far side of the planetarium. The planetarium offers a fun educational opportunity to those who take advantage of it. I want to return with friends that would equally enjoy it as I did. The experience takes you out of this world.
