Last chance to experience MARS 1001 planetarium show at the State Museum
December 15, 2021
Plus, guests can explore constellations with a Winter Stars Live Sky Show and more.
The South Carolina State Museum is offering guests the perfect opportunity to travel the universe with exciting planetarium experiences, engaging exhibitions and more through New Year’s weekend. Not only is it the last chance to see the full-dome show, MARS 1001, but guests can also discover exhibitions on space travel and learn about the stars visible in our own night sky this Winter.
“The State Museum is always excited to offer a full schedule of holiday shows and events,” said State Museum Executive Director, Amy Bartow-Melia. “And, for those looking for a unique way to enjoy their time off, we want to offer our guests a chance to go on an adventure through the stars with our digital dome planetarium experiences and special exhibitions.”
This month is the last chance to see the visually stunning MARS 1001 before it closes on Jan. 2, 2022. The planetarium show takes viewers away from planet Earth, into space, and across our solar system to our neighboring planet, Mars. The story follows the fictional crew of the Mars IRIS 1 mission, a daring 1001-day voyage to fly to the planet and return safely to Earth. Once on Mars, viewers will see the team work on the planet’s surface, traversing the landscape and retrieving rocks in a search for the history of water.
In addition to planetary travel, guests can also explore our own night-sky right here at home with a Winter Stars Live Sky Experience. Museum space educators will utilize the state-of-the-art planetarium to project the sky onto the 55 ft digital dome to highlight the constellations and planets visible during this season. See the stars that make up Orion the Hunter, take a closer look at the Andromeda Galaxy and learn to spot planets Jupiter and Saturn.
“In the planetarium we can leave Earth and show you what these worlds look like up close,” said Planetarium Manager, Liz Klimek. “We can even skim across the surface of the Andromeda Galaxy, providing a unique experience that can’t be matched.”
Guests can also visit the museum’s popular exhibition, Apollo 50: Journey to the Moon, which charts the history of NASA’s Apollo space program and South Carolina’s role in the lunar exploration. Featuring objects from the Apollo space program, the display features a made-to-scale Lunar Rover, items from South Carolina astronaut Gen. Charles Duke, a moon rock and more. The exhibition will be closing in March 2022, so this is the perfect time to experience it before it is gone.
The State Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum will be closed December 24 and 25 for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on December 27 and open Noon – 5 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
General admission is $8.95 for adults, $7.95 for Seniors and $6.95 for children (ages 3-12) and free for museum members. Planetarium experiences and 4-D shows are an additional charge. Updated health and safety information is available on the museum’s website. Due to the museum’s need to manage guest and theater capacity, online advance ticket purchase is recommended at scmuseum.org.
About the South Carolina State Museum
As the state’s largest and most comprehensive museum, the South Carolina State Museum, offers a unique, entertaining and educational experience to visitors throughout its 225,000 square foot facility located in the heart of downtown Columbia’s Congaree Vista. The State Museum is housed in one of its greatest artifacts, an 1894 old textile mill full of character and charm. In addition to beautiful meeting spaces throughout the facility, guests can explore outer space in one of the largest planetariums in the Southeast, watch an interactive 4D movie and look through a vintage telescope in a one-of-a-kind observatory. These exciting opportunities are all in addition to the four floors of South Carolina art, cultural history, natural history and science/technology that guests can experience. For more information about the museum, visit scmuseum.org.
