Pre-Show Tonight’s Sky

Grade 2 & Up

20 Minutes + Show Selection

Add this live 15 minute presentation to your selected show. Take a look at what is visible in the current evening’s sky including: planets, constellations, moon phase, and any special celestial event.

STARGAZING: Tonight’s Sky Live Chat

Grade 4 & Up

45 Minutes

Join the Planetarium Director for a live 45 minute discussion exploring the sky tonight. Learn about the basic motions of the sky, observing tips, visible constellations and planets, naked eye deep sky objects, and any special celestial events that are coming up in the next month. Your group will also have a chance to ask the Planetarium Director your astronomy questions.

Museum Gallery Tours

Pick a gallery and explore Pennsylvania topics with hands-on items and a museum staff member. This tour can be modified for different grade levels and provides an opportunity to answer visitors questions about the exhibits.

Available Topics:

Geology, Paleontology, Mammal Hall, Ecology, William Penn, and PA Icons.

Gravity

Max – 25 Participants

Everyone knows that if you jump up, you will come back down. This is because of gravity, but what is this mysterious force and how does it actually work? Discover how scientists over thousands of years built on each other’s knowledge to figure out what gravity is and how it works. Take a closer look at our current understanding of gravity and learn how it works and the ways it affects you and the universe around you. Participants will have a chance to watch gravity at work and experiment with it themselves.

Museum Highlights Tour

Pennsylvania is the only state named for both its people and the place, “Penn’s Woods”. Discover how this relationship of people and place shows throughout the history, art, and science of the Commonwealth with a tour of featured exhibits on each floor. This tour can be modified for different grade levels and provides an opportunity to answer visitors questions about the exhibits.

Pennsylvania Habitats:
Art and Nature in Mammal Hall Tour

All living things have basic needs for survival. By observing, comparing, and contrasting the habitats depicted in the Mammal Hall dioramas, you will explore the basic needs for survival depicted in each diorama and discover how change, both natural and manmade, can affect the environment.

*Due to high visitation, this program is not available in May.

Pennsylvania History:
The Objects Tell the Story

Primary and secondary objects and documents are valuable resources, many tell the story of Pennsylvania. Hear the stories of the objects on display on the First Floor at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Working in small groups, students will examine hands-on objects to discover the object’s story.

Pennsylvania Industrial Towns:
T.M. Fowler Birds-Eye Views

Explore Pennsylvania’s Industries of the turn of the 19th century and its most dramatic development. Identify the human characteristics of place and region as we compare contemporary Fowler’s birds-eye views of Pennsylvania’s towns and cities with objects from the Transportation and Industry Gallery.

Physical Geography of Pennsylvania

Learn about what geography is and how we use geography. Studying Pennsylvania’s landforms and waterways will provide an understanding of how Pennsylvania’s topography has shaped the state. Participants will compete in a series of fun, geographical challenges. The lesson is designed for students who have a basic understanding of the tools of geography and how to use them.

Skulls and What They Tell

Adaptations help animals to survive by adjusting to changes in their environment. Participants will work in small groups to observe, compare, and contrast the skulls of various mammals found in Pennsylvania. They will determine the unique physical characteristics of each mammal, predict what it eats, discover its role in the food chain, and identify each mammal.

Museum Highlights Tour

Pennsylvania is the only state named for both its people and the place, “Penn’s Woods”. Discover how this relationship of people and place shows throughout the history, art, and science of the Commonwealth with a tour of featured exhibits on each floor. This tour can be modified for different grade levels and provides an opportunity to answer visitors questions about the exhibits.

A Place for All Exhibit Tour

Max – 25 Participants
Learn about the history of three integration efforts in Pennsylvania after World War II that testifies to the courage of those who sought to end racial segregation in all of its forms. This tour provides an opportunity to answer questions and discuss the exhibit on a deeper level.