Expedition Reef
2025-05-29 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-05-31 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | ME
Expedition Reef
Hope for reefs in a changing world
Narrated by Lea Salonga (26 min.)
Learn the secrets of the “rainforests of the sea” as you embark on an oceanic safari to the world’s most vibrant — and endangered — marine ecosystems.

Imagine the Moon
2025-06-01 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-02 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
The moon has inspired humanity scientically, philosophically, mathermatically and poetically. This new planetarium program takes us to see the moon up close! We explore its terrain, understand its origin and learn how it has influenced us throughout human history.

The Little Star that Could
2025-06-04 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-05 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
A little yellow star travels through the galaxy in search of planets that will give it its special name. During his journey, this star learns about the many types of stars that live in the galaxy. Hot blue stars; cool red stars; double stars, large stars and much more.
Produced by the Audio Visual Imagineering Company and based on the popular planetarium show of the same name, “The Little Star That Could” is an engaging and fun show that introduces your child to the wonders of stellar astronomy.
A splendid star show for the entire family!
This omni-dome show uses the entire dome as the screen for a visually immersive experience.
(Presented in the memory of Steve Innes 1955-2011)

The Sun Our Living Star
2025-06-06 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
The Sun has shone on Earth for four and a half billion years. Consuming 600 million tons of hydrogen each second, it is the source of energy that drives our winds, our weather, and all life. Experience images of the Sun’s violent, fiery surface and discover the secrets of our star. Show length: 25 minutes

Bella Gaia
2025-06-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Bella Gaia takes the audience on a spectacular journey around planet Earth simulating the transformative effect astronauts feel while orbiting above. This poetic musical journey features astounding NASA visualizations of science data and enveloping scenery from around the world. Entrance this evening is by donation.

Larry Cat in Space
2025-06-08 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-09 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Larry Cat In Space is a playful, imaginative cartoon presentation about an inquisitive cat who takes a trip to the Moon. Through Larry’s eyes, we observe his human family, a group of enthusiastic sky-watchers. Larry notes how human time differs from cat time. Diana takes a job on the Moon, and sadly leaves Larry behind. Larry figures out a way to hide in her clothes trunk.
The trunk and Larry are loaded onto the Space Plane, which takes him to space station Freedom. From there, he is transferred to the Lunar Shuttle. During weightlessness, the trunk opens. Larry floats out into the cabin, and looks out the window. When Diana discovers Larry, he leaps to greet her, but sails over her head, since he only weighs two pounds in lunar gravity.
He meets the rest of Imbrium Village’s inhabitants, including the evil Commander Stone, who orders Diana to return Larry to Earth. The Moon base crew petitions to keep Larry, and the Commander relents. He even makes Larry a cat space suit. When Larry ventures outside, he spots the Earth, looking a lot like the Moon did from the porch at home.

Dinosaurs at Dusk
2025-06-11 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
A whirlwind time travel adventure back to the epoch of the dinosaurs!
We have to tell you that we’ve been waiting aeons to announce that we have a full dome, computer animated dinosaurs show! A larger than life extravaganza rife with roaring monsters from the ancient age: bounding, stomping, flying, hunting, and foraging frenetically above us.
Well, by heavens, now we can tell the world that the dinosaurs have arrived at the Southworth Planetarium!
Propel yourself back through the epochs toexplore an Earth teeming with Pteradons, Triceratrops and, of course, the ferocious -and therefore wonderfully marketable- T-Rex!
And, if we can say so, this is NOT your great great great grandfather’s dinosaur show with slides and lethargic Sunday afternoon nature special narration. Instead, we’re embarking on a causality violating adventure through time to discover a planet dominated by the largest land animals that ever set claw to topsoil.

Super Massive Black Holes
2025-06-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-13 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-06-14 13:00 - 14:00 | ME
Leading scientists, industrial experts, and professionals in science dissemination come together to combine state-of-the-art observations, simulations and innovative tools to compare theory with observation, and shed light on the physics of black hole formation in the context of galaxy evolution.

Seeing! A Photon's Journey
2025-06-15 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-16 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-17 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Follow the journey of a single photon as it is produced in a distant star, before travelling across the vast expanse of space to land on someone’s retina. This fulldome planetarium show explores some of the fascinating processes of the cosmos, from astrophysics to the biology of the eye and brain. Funded through a generous grant from ZEISS, the show is narrated by astronomer and science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Sunstruck
2025-06-16 14:00 - 15:00 | ME
Travel back to the beginning of time and experience the birth of the Sun. Discover how it came to support life, how it threatens life as we know it, and how its energy will one day fade away.

Natural Selection
2025-06-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
A show about the dynamics of evolution. We follow Charles Darwin on his voyages around the world aboard the HMS Beagle. Discover the wondrous natural processes that shape and re-shape the myriad life forms on our planet.

From Earth to the Universe
2025-06-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity’s oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today’s grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience From Earth to the Universe.

Rusty Rocket's Last Blast
2025-06-19 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-20 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Join Rusty Rocket and his merry band of rocket rookies as they explore the solar system. This show combines humor, animation and the latest planet images to give you and your family a fun and informative solar system tour.

Solstice at Stonehenge
2025-06-20 19:00 - 20:00 | ME
Join planetarium Stonehenge scholar Lawrence Price as he shares a personal and historical perspective of the greatest monument to the annual movements of the Sun. This event is by donation.

Tilt
2025-06-23 11:00 - 12:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Siblings Annie and Max go on an adventure to learn how the seasons work. It’s up to them to make things right when the seasons go crazy, but it will take something extraordinary and a little bit of help. They discover that sometimes, we just need a new angle on the world. Show length: 25 minutes

Destination Solar System
2025-06-23 13:00 - 14:00 | Southworth Planetarium — Science Building, 70 Falmouth St, Portland, ME, 04103, United States
A brand new and exciting show that takes audiences to see the beautiful worlds of our solar system.
We accelerate forward into time to the end of this century and hitch a ride on a planet-hopping space craft.
A fun program for the entire family!
