Press Release

STAR WARS MAKES ITS FINAL EAST COAST LANDING IN PHILADELPHIA
Plus, Regional Attractions Open Up The Skies To Amateur Space Explorers Looking To Extend Their Philly Stay

PHILADELPHIA, February 8, 2008 - When Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination makes its final East Coast stop at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute Science Museum, February  9 through May 4, 2008, fans of the wildly popular series will have a chance to see how the fantasy world created in the movies may one day become a reality in an exhibit filled with film props and costumes, interactive displays, real world robots and a Millennium Falcon replica. Of course, visitors can also extend their mission by spending a night or two in Philadelphia to check out more space marvels, including planetariums, star gazing parties and other after-dark astronomical activities. Here’s how to turn a Philadelphia getaway into a Star Wars-inspired stay:

Star Wars exhibition opening at The Franklin Institute

Photo by J. Smith for GPTMC

 

• Several space shows are in permanent rotation for display on the 60-foot, four-story dome ceiling at The Franklin Institute’s Fels Planetarium, the nation’s second oldest planetarium. And every second Wednesday, the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society hosts free, public lessons about space here at 7:30 p.m. 222 N. 20^th Street, (215) 448-1200, www.fi.edu, www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org
• The extensively renovated Joel N. Bloom Observatory on the rooftop of The Franklin Institute is open to visitors daily (weather permitting) during museum hours. But on the second Thursday of each month, Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts guides visitors through Night Skies in the Observatory. Participants experience one of the world’s only examples of a cutting-edge Zeiss refractor, which allows them to view objects in the sky with uncanny digital accuracy, as well as objects normally too faint to observe.
• For the first time ever, The Franklin Institute’s Tuttleman IMAX Theater immerses visitors in the breathtaking sights of outer space as astronauts from Kennedy Space Center and Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome travel 220 miles above Earth to rendezvous with the International Space Station in the new film Space Station. Plus, space travelers can prepare for their out-of-this-world journey by downloading the Institute’s podcast, Exploring Space in the New Millennium.
• On permanent view at The Franklin Institute is the Space Command station, which includes 30 hands-on activities that explore the history, uniforms, technology and equipment of space exploration. Budding astronauts can locate their homes using a satellite home-tracking device or go on a mission to find a lost space probe.

• The American Philosophical Society’s Celestial Garden/Invisible Sky features the art of Winifred Lutz and surrounds stargazers with LED-lit glass domes that represent Philadelphia’s night sky. And the outdoor garden installation displays hand-blown orbs to reflect prominent constellations such as Pegasus, Orion and Ursa Minor. The exhibition is on view at The Jefferson Garden, including guided tours on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00-5:00 p.m., through March 31, 2008. 105 S. 5^th Street, (215) 440-3400, www.amphilsoc.org  

• Throughout the spring of 2008, the Julia Fowler Planetarium at Eastern University reprises the Emmy-nominated children’s-program-turned-science-show The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather, presented on the planetarium’s new digital full-dome projector, one of only 30 such installations in the world. 1300 Eagle Road, St. Davids, (610) 341-1390, www.eastern.edu

• If the sky is clear on the second Tuesday of each month, Swarthmore College opens Sproul Observatory to the public for an hour beginning at 8:00 p.m. (9:00 DST). 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, (610) 957-6335, astro.swarthmore.edu
• Members of the public can take advantage of Villanova University’s observatory from 7:00-9:00 p.m. (8:00-10:00 p.m. DST) every Monday through Thursday when classes are in session. The observatory boasts a weather station and image processing facilities and visitors can use the 12-inch Meade telescope. Mendel Hall, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, (610) 519-4820, www.villanova.edu/artsci/astronomy

• On designated Saturday nights throughout the year, the public can join the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomical Society for a “star party.” Gazers use the society’s telescopes and binoculars to catch a glimpse of distant constellations, galaxies and planets. The free star parties are held at Valley Forge National Historical Park’s model airplane field, and they run from sunset until 11:00 p.m. www.dvaa.org
• The Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association hosts free StarWatches for members of the public between March and November. Web site lists dates and locations. www.bma2.org
• The Chester County Astronomical Society hosts free monthly observing sessions in the Myrick Conservation Center. The sessions, which are planned around the new moon, are open to the public, with telescopes and binoculars available for loan. 1760 Unionville-Wawaset Road, West Chester, www.ccas.us
• Every August during the weekend closest to the new moon, the Chesmont Astronomical Society hosts StarFest, a free public star party in Warwick Park. Guests enjoy the opportunity to use more than 70 telescopes, listen to guest speakers, win door prizes and see a meteorite display. During the society’s monthly star parties at French Creek State Park, observers watch a sunset transform into a star-laced sky and view planets and star clusters using telescopes and live view star cameras. 675 Park Road, Downingtown, www.chesmontastro.org

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery.

CONTACT:

Caroline Bean, GPTMC
(215) 599-7433, caroline@gptmc.com

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