Discovery Dome
LASM’s new portable planetarium brings lessons related to earth, space, and astronomy right to your school. Inside the inflatable dome is a digital video class that complements your curriculum. Emphasis is on participatory activities.
With the exception of The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather and Ice Worlds, each program also includes a live demonstration of the seasonal night sky. All programs are specifically adapted to educational standards for different grade levels.
Programs are 30 minutes long, with 15 minutes between each group presentation. The Discovery Dome requires a space 25 feet square, a ceiling height of 12 feet, and a nearby electrical outlet.
Pricing Information
4 presentations / 3 hours max., $350
8 presentations / 5 hours max., $500
Please note: A $0.40 per mile round trip fee will be assessed for all
areas outside of East Baton Rouge Parish.
Program Information
The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather
Grades Pre-K–2
Move over George Jetson! The 21st century’s newest space team has arrived. Stalwart Captain Bula, brainiac Professor Multo, feisty hot-doggin’ space pilot Zeeter, the amazing space pet Gorga, and twin flying companions Wizzy & Wigg are the lovably wacky characters who will take your students on a roller-coaster fun ride across the Universe – and teach facts about science and astronomy in the process.
View Trailer
The Sky Tonight
Grades Pre-K–12
Using star charts, this interactive lesson challenges the student’s ability to locate seasonal planets and constellations in the night sky. Lesson content is geared for every individual grade level with an abbreviated version of the program recommended for students in Grades Pre-K–K. Upper grades also focus on the identification of other stellar objects, planetary orbits, and distances. Students may keep the star charts for classroom use.
NEW SHOW! Ice Worlds
Grades 1–12
The delicate balance between ice, water and the existence of life has been a topic of exploration and discovery in science for generations. In travels to the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our planet, we’ll examine the ecosystems that live and thrive there and see how their survival is connected with our own. Beyond Earth, we'll see how the existence of ice shapes the landscape and the natural systems on other planets and moons in our solar system. Narrated by Emily Watson, star of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.
View Trailer
Star of Bethlehem
Grades 1-12
Join us on a journey in search of the celestial object that led the wise men to the Christ Child. Along the way, you will learn who the wise men really were and where they came from. Using the planetarium's digital star field, we can re-create the night sky of 2,000 years ago to see what the wise men saw.
NEW SHOW! It's About Time
Grades 3–12
Some day our children may travel to orbit in a Space Elevator. Some day we may use a Time Telescope to watch the Big Bang, the birth and death of a star, or an explosion on the Sun. Explore these wonderful inventions from the "science future" as you discover the many clocks that keep time in the Universe!
It's About Time takes you up from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to an orbiting geosynchronous space station. As the Earth gets smaller below you, your clocks stay the same, and we view the changes that days and seasons cause on earth.
At the top, look at the wonders of the universe through a major telescope, then see it as it really is today by viewing through a wormhole that shortens the distance that light must travel to get to you. It's About Time talks about the cycles that rule our planet and our lives, and ends with the entire time since the Big Bang compressed into a single day.
NEW SHOW! Two Small Pieces of Glass
Grades 3-12
While attending a local star party, two teenage students learn how the telescope has helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our understanding of the Universe. Their conversation with a local female astronomer enlightens them on the history of the telescope and the discoveries these wonderful tools have made. The students see how telescopes work and how the largest observatories in the world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of the universe.
Earth-Sun-Moon
Grades 4–8
This interactive program focuses on how the earth, sun, and moon interact with each other. Using a hands-on approach, students demonstrate the lunar phases, eclipses, and distances between the earth and our moon.
Earth’s Wild Ride
Grades 4–6
Set on the surface of the Moon in the year 2081, Earth's Wild Ride opens with a grandfather and his grandchildren gazing out into space. As they watch the Moon's shadow move across Earth, the grandfather tells stories of crashing asteroids, erupting volcanoes, roaring dinosaurs, electrifying lightning and booming thunder. While learning about eclipses, the ice age, Earth's water cycle and differences between the Earth and Moon, the audience is taken on a roller-coaster-like ride through canyons of raging rivers and hot flowing lava.
NEW SHOW! Impact Earth
Grades 5-12
In 2006, the Houston Museum of Natural Science unearthed a piece of an asteroid that crashed into the North American prairie long ago. The story takes us from the birth of our solar system, to the catastrophe that tore this asteroid apart, to the surface of Mars, and to a future asteroid mining colony.
NEW SHOW! IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System
Grades 6-12
Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between our Solar System and the rest of our galaxy in IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System. Designed for visitors with an appreciation for the challenges of space science and a desire to learn more about science research, IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System follows the creation of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). Audiences will get an in-depth look at the mission and how IBEX is collecting high-speed atoms to create a map of our Solar System's boundary.
For more information, contact our Discovery Dome Educator Sheree Westerhaus at 225-344-5272, ext. 124, or click here to register online.