We are now taking school show reservations.

The planetarium is a unique tool for stimulating students and conveying the excitement of discovery. Santa Monica College's Planetarium has been serving Southern California for thirty years. We have experience with all age levels, from pre-school to senior citizens. Since our shows are presented live, we can tailor show content to fit any teacher's particular needs and specifications.

Our school show begins by introducing children to the planetarium theater to help them feel at home. Our Digistar-2 projector, the first completely computerized planetarium in the L.A. area, recreates the starry sky as you would see it on a clear dark night.

We show the sky as your class will see it that night so they learn how to find the constellations and planets from their own backyard. After watching the phases of our moon, we "visit" the moon to see what the astronauts discovered there. Contrasting the stark, airless moon with our living Earth, we find that, while very different, both worlds are also similar. We then tour the Solar System, visiting all the planets to learn something of each.

Looking beyond our Solar System, we find that all stars are more or less like our our Sun, but that they differ enormously in size and color. We view our galaxy or "city of stars", the Milky Way, a vast spinning pinwheel of nearly a trillion stars. We view other galaxies of various types and find billions of them stretching out as far as our telescopes can see. Finally we return to Earth at the end of our tour.

The length and content of each show is scaled to the age/grade level of your group. Pre-school and kindergarten groups will have a show about 30 - 45  minutes long, and we ask that group size be limited to a maximum of 25 students at these early grade levels. Grades five and above will have a show about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes long. We always allow 10-15 minutes (at  the teacher's discretion) after the show for the children to ask any questions they would like about astronomy or space exploration.

Charges for School Shows (Tuesday through Thursday):
Groups of 18 or fewer (including adults): $75.
Groups of 18 or more (including adults): $4.00/person.


The maximum capacity of our planetarium theater is 50.
Payment checks should be made payable to "Santa Monica College."

PLEASE NOTE: Any school which cancels less than 24 hours before their scheduled show time is expected to pay a $60 late cancellation fee.

For further information or reservations, call the Planetarium at: (310) 434-4767 or email: trager_phyllis@smc.edu.

Supplementary Materials and Links for Educators

Nearby Parks and Science Field Trips

.