Tickets are now on sale for summer 2024 shows at the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium, located on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott Campus, in STEM Building 76, at 3700 Willow Creek Road. This season’s selection of presentations invites viewers to swim within coral reefs, learn about the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral, explore mysterious black holes and more.
“The versatility of our state-of-the-art planetarium here in Prescott allows us to visit far-off galaxies one weekend and then take an immersive flight over the Alps on the next,” said Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium Director Eric Edelman. “The common thread that binds all our programming together is its base in exciting, innovative stories of scientific progress. We want to share the universe with our audience and empower the next generation of explorers.”
The planetarium’s online ticketing system allows audiences to select their seats in advance for upcoming shows. All shows are open to the public and are held most Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
For details or to reserve tickets, visit https://prescott.erau.edu/planetarium.
Showtimes and dates for the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium summer 2024 season include:
Ningaloo: Australia’s Other Great Reef
Friday, May 31: 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 1: 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Friday, June 28: 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 29: 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
One of the world’s largest fringing coral reefs, Ningaloo Reef is visible from space and stretches along the northwest coast of Western Australia. For this event, we will travel in a two-person submarine, Odyssea, on an underwater adventure. Rich in coral, we will experience this highway for the planet’s largest and smallest fish, including the whale shark.
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Friday, June 7: 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 8: 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Following the April 2019 fire that almost destroyed Paris’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, a team of engineers, masons and timber workers set out on the daunting challenge of restoring France’s historic landmark. The program traces the dramatic human and technical challenges of the project’s first three years, going behind-the-scenes with carpenters shaping lumber for the new roof and spire, stone masons repairing gaping holes in the vault and artisans who use traditional techniques to restore stained glass windows.
Rising Stars of Prescott – Summer Edition
Friday, June 14: 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.*
Saturday, June 15: 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
*Friday evening shows are scheduled to begin later than normal to ensure it will be dark enough for telescope viewing following the programs.
Interested in getting to know your night sky? This live planetarium program will show you what constellations, planets, meteor showers and more will be coming to the Prescott skies for your viewing pleasure. The content for this program changes every month. Telescope viewing will be available after the Friday evening shows, weather permitting.
Uncovering Black Holes
Friday, June 21: 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 22: 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
From the collapsed cores of massive stars to the dark, unfathomable behemoths lurking at the centers of galaxies, we will explore the wealth of knowledge scientists have gathered about black holes across the universe. With the help of tools like the Event Horizon Telescope, we now know more about these mysterious objects than ever before, but how much can we truly discover about something that is so very good at offering only one-way trips within its depths?
Our Many Moons
Friday, July 12: 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 13: 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
In honor of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, we explore the discoveries that have been made on our moon, as well as many other moons within our Solar System.
The Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium is the only Arizona planetarium north of Phoenix, and it is capable of seating 116 students and visitors. The facility also contains multimedia learning software that can take viewers from the inner complexities of the human body to the farthest reaches of the known universe.
In addition to being an invaluable resource for the Embry-Riddle community, the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium hosts events and programming open to the greater Prescott and Quad-City public year-round.
