Planetarium Opportunities for Educators and Community Groups
Embedded Files
We had an initial pause on streaming movies during the school day after we had a low bandwidth day. Lately the bandwidth seems ok. We have also tweaked the browser, GPU, and Windows settings to minimize any other factors. We recently started again, and so far ok. Sometimes we had no pause for buffering and sometimes just for a few seconds and for only a few times.
We have different kinds of licensed movies. Some movies reside on our computer and some are streamed. The two movies below are streamed. If you have questions, please ask.
Whale Super Highway
Whale Super Highway
We showed this movie last fall to several classrooms from 1st grade to high school. This time, we are presenting it to students for their 5th grade Sea Week field trip and also showing it to the public this weekend. We license this movie for a period of either 2 or 3 days. It is streamed. We have a 45-minute version and a 30-min version. If there's enough interest, we can bring it back again. Let us know. Public shows this weekend are Saturday April 25 at 6pm for the 45-min version and Sunday April 26 at both 2pm and 3pm for the 30-min version.
Legend of the Enchanted Reef
We showed a related movie to one class who came to the planetarium for one of the 1st grade Sea Week. It's a very energetic and engaging animated movie. We also license this movie for a period of either 2 or 3 days. It is streamed and comes as both a 45-minute and 30-minute version. We show it to the public on the following weekend: Saturday May 2 at 6pm for the 45-min version and Sunday May 3 at both 2pm and 3pm for the 30-min version. If youhave an interest in showing it to your clas, let us know.
Short-previews are linked on the home page at mariedrakeplanetarium.org. Contact us if you wold like to see a longer preview for either movie or see any teacher guides. We still have funding for JSD class field trips for this school year.
rosemary @mariedrakeplanetarium.org
Field Trip Schedule and Signup Form
Field Trip Schedule and Signup Form
Here's the Schedule for 2025-2026. Any times which become unavailable will get marked here. When you contact me or fill out a form (not yet up), you can request a date, time, and length. A choice of length is up to you. I'll add your information to the schedule. You can access the schedule with you JSD email login.
Fill out the form: SIgnup Form
Email me for questions: rosemary@mariedrakeplanetarium.org
The planetarium is operated 100% by volunteers, donations, and sometimes grants. The City and Borough of Juneau have kept “the lights on” for us in the Marie Drake Building just as the Juneau School District did before them. We received a CBJ Assembly Grant in FY2026 which provided a needed upgrade for the computer control unit and a mobile planetarium system using a 6-m inflatable dome.
This year bus transportation and media licensing is partially funded by the citizens of the City and Borough of Juneau through sales tax revenues, thanks to the Youth Activity Grant from the CBJ Parks and Recreation Department.
Experiences
Experiences
SPECIAL REQUEST
Request a topic. We have a variety of resources. See a list of sometimes requested topics.
FULLDOME MOVIES
We have a selection of fulldome movies. For 2025-2026, we have a grant to help with license fees. Some movies we can show anytime, free or with a small pay-per-view charge. For movies which can be rented for 3-days, we can often schedule some public shows during that period. For 2025-2026, we have a grant to help with license fees,
LIVE SHOWS
1. Under a Juneau Sky
This is our core interactive planetarium show which covers a variety of interesting topics and visual effects. We can adapt it for any age group, and each show differs depending on the interests of the teacher, presenter, and students. We can include topics for science standards for certain grades.
2. Raven and the Box of Daylight
This field trip incorporates the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight, as told by Tlingit storyteller Lily Hope. It highlights the Indigenous story with the natural world of stars, the Moon, the Sun, and daylight and can be adapted for pre-K through lower elementary grades.
3. Our Solar System and Beyond (general theme)
This can be tailored to your request.
4. Planet Earth (general theme)
This can be tailored to your request.
5. Selection of Topics
For each of the above you can add suggestions, comments, or requests on the Signup Form.
Topics
Topics
Just some ideas...
Just some ideas...
The path of the Sun in the sky
Constellations
Northern constellations
Constellations from different cultures
Compare skies from different locations (north pole, equator, Australia, etc.)
Seasons
Wayfinding and navigation
Moon phases
Aurora
Tides
Solar system tour
Exoplanets
Life beyond earth
Solar eclipses
Lunar eclipses
Galaxies
... and more
Movies
Movies
We'll soon include a list of fulldome movies with descriptions, links to trailers, age recommendations, etc. The information below shows examples of fulldome movies accessible to you on a wide variety of topics. Typical lengths are 25 - 30 min, which may leave time for live topics or demonstrations during field trips.
Movies which we can show anytime.
Recent examples include Messengers of Time and Space, One Sky Project films, Mars - the Ultimate Voyage, Mysteries of Your Brain, Wayfinders, Sunset Mediation, A to Z Astronomy! For Ages 3 to 103, DINO SOARS! Change Over Time, Spooky Space, Surviving in Space, and much more.
We always look out for opportunities to add to this list.
Movies which we can show as a pay-per-view.
NSC Creative offers us the following shows: The Great Solar System Adventure, We Are Guardians, We Are Stars, Capcom Go - The Apollo Story, One Step Beyond - A Journey to Mars
Movies which can be rented for 3 days at a time.
Reef Distribution will offer us 3-day rentals on some popular shows like Dinosaurs - A Story of Survival, Whale Superhighway, Little Major Tom, and more. You can find all titles here.
Fulldome OnDemand offers 3-day rentals to any planetarium with an online rental process. Examples include Living Worlds; Habitat Earth; One World, One Sky - Big Bird's Adventure; Destination Solar System and more. You can find all titles here.
Rental prices, for the examples listed above, vary from $50 to $170 for 3 days.
Fulldome OnDemand also has some less expensive films.
In order to make the best use of a 3-day rental, we try to show a movie multiple times, including some public shows.
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