ORONO – The Emera Astronomy Center, located off the Rangeley Road at the University of Maine, is holding the following star shows in the month of April.

Sesame Street – One World, One Sky, April 2, 10-11 a.m.: Explore the night sky with your favorite friends from Sesame Street in One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure. Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon, where they discover how different it is from Earth. They explore the day and night sky, learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun and the Moon.  Along the way, they learn how the sky we see is shared by many people around the world. Children attending the show can interact as they watch, drawing constellations and counting the time it takes the sun to set.

Habitat Earth – April 5, 12, 19 and 26, 7-8 p.m.: Living networks connect and support life forms large and small—from colonies of tiny microbes and populations of massive whales to ever-expanding human societies. Discover what it means to live in today’s connected world in Habitat Earth. Through stunning visualizations of the natural world, dive below the ocean’s surface to explore the dynamic relationships found in kelp forest ecosystems, travel beneath the forest floor to see how Earth’s tallest trees rely on tiny fungi to survive, and journey to new heights to witness the intricate intersection between human and ecological networks.  See how all species on our planet are interconnected and important to sustaining our living world.

Linkin Park Numb, April 5, 12, 19, 26, 9-10 p.m.: Linkin Park Numb is an imaginative adaption of music focusing on dazzling visuals and creative expression. Experience this Diamond-awarded band in new, innovative ways at the Emera Astronomy Center! Tickets are $8 for general admission. Music programs may contain explicit lyrics, and are intended for adult audiences. All music programs may contain bright flashing lights and fast-moving images, which have been known to trigger seizures with those with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Earth, Moon, and Sun, April 19, 2-3 p.m.:  Earth, Moon, & Sun is a fast-paced full dome demonstration of lunar phases, eclipses, day and night, the sun and other puzzling events with the help of a confused coyote. This program beautifully illustrates basic concepts like moon phases and seasons. Based on the trickster of Native American lore, Coyote is constantly corrected in his misunderstandings of how things work. A live tour of the Maine sky and its beautiful constellations completes this micro-unit of astronomy.

Life of Trees – April 7, 14, 17, 21 and 28, 2-3 p.m.:  In The Life of Trees a cheeky ladybug called Dolores and a quirky firefly called Mike take the audience on an adventurous journey of exploration into the wondrous world of trees. Attend the Creepy Crawlies Educational Institution to find out how trees live and their importance to the wider environment. On the excursion Delores and Mike zip around a tree, and in doing so, playfully learn its secrets: How do plants get their food from the Sun? How do they grow? How does water get from the roots to the top of the crown? And how does all this make life on our earth possible? The Life of Trees is a perfect planetarium show for the whole family that raises the awareness of protecting the natural environment in which we live.

Magic Treehouse: Space Mission, April 15, 2-3 p.m.: Travel with the brother-sister duo, Jack and Annie, in their Magic Treehouse as they discover a note that asks them to answer a series of six questions about space. With the help of an astronomer, the Internet, an astronaut, books and the writer of the mysterious note, Jack and Annie are taken on a wondrous journey of adventure and learning. This exciting voyage will carry visitors to the planets and far out into the Universe where Jack and Annie nearly get…Well, we don’t want to give it away. The adventure is just beginning! Based on the popular book series by Mary Pope Osborne.

Cosmic Recipe – April 16, 2-3 p.m.: The famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”  Though that may sound crazy, Sagan was onto something big! Want to know what? Pull up a chair at our Planetarium’s Periodic Table and learn the cosmic recipes that created everything in our world – even us!   Discover how the Big Bang cooked up everyday elements such as the calcium in our teeth, the silicon in our smart phones, and even the carbon in our apple pies in The Cosmic Recipe.

Dawn of the Space Age, April 18, 2-3 p.m.: Experience the exciting beginnings of space travel, from the launch of Sputnik 1 to the Apollo landings on the Moon, and from the assembly of the International Space Station to the first private space flights. Trace the initial competition of political systems for supremacy in space, and the peaceful collaboration between nations today. Join in the vivid, historically accurate reconstruction of humans first steps into the cosmos. Learn about the men and women who braved the risks of space travel. Witness their courage, their passion and their perseverance in “Dawn of the Space Age”.

Science Lecture Series: Dr. Grant Tremblay, April 18, 7-8 p.m.: The Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory – two of NASA’s Great Observatories – have enabled our farthest reach in the Cosmos. Explore and celebrate three decades of discovery by these great space missions, and take a glimpse into plans for the future of Space Telescopes, including the proposed Lynx X-ray Observatory.  Dr. Grant Tremblay is an Astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics – Harvard and Smithsonian. He was previously a NASA Einstein Fellow at Yale University, a Fellow at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and a Fellow Astronomer at ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile. His Doctoral Thesis work was conducted at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Johns Hopkins University, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is heavily involved in the development of future NASA space missions and is a regular cast member on the Discovery and Science Channel’s award-winning documentary series How the Universe Works and Space’s Deepest Secrets, as well as the host of a forthcoming Science Channel miniseries on black holes.  The Science Lecture Series at Emera Astronomy Center will take place the third Thursday of each month and is a partnership project with the Maine Science Festival and will feature research from a variety of science disciplines from around our state and use the digital planetarium to visualize these discoveries in a new dramatic and immersive way. Season passes are available for the entire October 2018 – April 2019 Science Lecture Series for $30 for adults, and $20 for children under 12. They can be purchased by calling 581-1341, or by inquiring at the box office.

Tickets for planetarium programs are $6 for Adults, $5 for UMaine Students/Veterans/Senior Citizens, and $4 for children under 12. Tickets are available online at http://astro.umaine.edu, by calling 581-1341, or at the box office.

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