2009 December Calendar of RMSC Events
December 01, 2009
ROCHESTER MUSEUM & SCIENCE CENTER (RMSC)
DECEMBER 2009—PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES, AND EVENTS
[24-hour recorded information number: (585)271-1880]
www.rmsc.org
MUSEUM HOURS: NOTE—During the RMSC's presentation of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, the museum will be open Wednesday and Thursday evenings, except on selected holidays.
Regular Museum Hours during the presentation of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
9am–5pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays & Saturdays
9am–9pm Wednesdays & Thursdays (excepted selected holidays*)
11am–5pm Sundays
Museum Holiday Hours
*Christmas Eve—Thursday, December 24: 9am–3pm
Christmas Day—Friday, December 25: RMSC CLOSED
*New Year's Eve—Thursday, December 31: 9am–5pm
New Year's Day—Friday, January 1: 11am–5pm
MUSEUM ADMISSION:
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition Admission Fees (includes museum admission)
adults $17; seniors/college students $15; ages 3–18 $14, RMSC members $5
Regular Museum Admission (without admission to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition)
adults $10; seniors and college students with ID $9; children and teens (ages 3–18) $8; RMSC members and children under 3 free.
STRASENBURGH PLANETARIUM HOURS AND ADMISSION: See show schedule.
NOTE: Strasenburgh Planetarium is CLOSED on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25.
CUMMING NATURE CENTER HOURS:
NOTE: Cumming Nature Center is CLOSED for seasonal maintenance through December 25.
Beginning Saturday, December 26:
Trails open five days a week: Wednesday through Friday, 9am–3:30pm; Saturday and Sunday 9am–4:30pm (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
CUMMING NATURE CENTER ADMISSION:
RMSC members free; Non-members: suggested donation—$3/person; $10(maximum)/family
SPECIAL EVENTS: Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with museum admission.
Science Saturdays—Sponsored by Time Warner Cable
For middle school and junior and senior high school students to experience science in a fun, casual setting. Programs are held in the museum unless otherwise noted.
Saturday, December 6: 11:30am–1:30pm
Diving Detectives Presented by Monroe County Sheriff's Office SCUBA Team
Find out how this specialized law enforcement unit uses science and technology to respond to underwater incidents and conduct underwater evidence recovery.
Saturday, December 12: 12pm–3pm
Diving! Presented by Sea to Sea Diving Enterprises
Visit with scientist Steve Dunning and learn about technological advances in diving over the years.
Wednesday, December 16: 7:30pm in the RMSC Eisenhart Auditorium
Science on the Edge Lecture
"Legend of the Lake: The Discovery of HMS Ontario"
Presented by Shipwreck Explorers Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville
Hear the story of the thrilling discovery and exploration of one of the "Holy Grail" shipwrecks of the Great Lakes.
Admission: adults $15, students $8. $1 discount for RMSC members.
Multi-cultural Holiday Celebrations—Sponsored by Time Warner Cable
RMSC invites the public to live performances celebrating our community's diverse traditions.
Tuesday, December 29 at 5:30pm
Kwanzaa: African American Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture
Presented by The Kwanzaa Coalition
Check www.rmsc.org for date/time information about:
Chanukah: Jewish Festival of Lights
Wigilia: Traditional Polish Christmas Eve
Sunday, December 20: performances at 2pm and 3pm
The Night Before Christmas
Presented by the RMSC Players
Not the typical "silent night" in this fun approach to a traditional tale.
Saturday, December 26 – Tuesday, December 29
11am–4pm (12pm–4pm Sunday)
Holiday Science & Technology Days
Explore hands-on activities with local scientists, naturalists, and engineers. Meet live animals. Learn about things we all can do to help protect our environment. Try your hand at experiments in biology, engineering, and chemistry. Discover how things work from the inside out by taking them apart.
RMSC EXHIBITS
Temporary Exhibits:
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
Open now through January 18, 2010
Presenting Sponsor: ESL Federal Credit Union
Additional Support: Harris Beach PLLC and Senator Jim Alesi
Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
Experience the legend of Titanic like never before. See authentic artifacts rescued from Titanic's final resting place, experience re-creations of her famous rooms, and share in the dramatic stories of her passengers and crew. Purchase tickets online: www.rmsc.org.
Ongoing Exhibits:
Object Theater in Expedition Earth Presented by American Rock Salt Company, LLC
Discover the story of our region's rich natural resources of water, wind, rocks and minerals in this new multi-media theater experience.
Light Here | Light Now Presented by Bausch & Lomb
Rochester is optics! Explore hands-on exhibits about light, color, and optics with mirrors, lenses, and lasers.
Expedition Earth Presenting Sponsor: M&T Bank
Explore your connections to the natural world in this spectacular, interactive natural science exhibition. See how our region's landscape and life forms have changed over hundreds of millions of years.
Discover Our Weather Presented by Time Warner Cable and YNN Rochester
Thunder, lightning, high and low pressure! Find out what it all means in this hands-on weather exhibit.
Flight to Freedom: Rochester's Underground Railroad Presented with support from the City of Rochester and the Underground Railroad Heritage Trail, a program of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Explore stories of courageous African Americans who traveled through Rochester on their way from slavery to freedom. Find out about local people who helped them.
The Rochester Business Hall of Fame Presented by the RMSC in partnership with Junior Achievement of Rochester and the Rochester Business Journal. Sponsored by Bank of America
This interactive exhibit celebrates exemplary Rochester leaders who have made outstanding, enduring contributions to business and community in the greater Rochester region.
1936 Cunningham-Ford Town Car
One of the most spectacular objects from the RMSC's collections was produced by the company founded by Rochester entrepreneur James Cunningham, recently inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame. See it on the museum's third floor near the Rochester Business Hall of Fame exhibit.
How Things Work
Discover the science behind everyday devices. Through fun, hands-on investigation, find out how mechanisms such as light switches, thermostats, and traffic signals work.
K'NEX
Test your engineering skills! Build trucks, towers—anything you can imagine— with this colorful construction toy. Purchase your creations to take home, or take them apart to come back and play another day.
AdventureZone
Investigate the underwater world of Lake Ontario as you dive to the lake floor in the Deep Submergence Vehicle simulator. Test your strength on the Genesee Gorge climbing wall. Experiment with wind currents, stream erosion, and more.
At the Western Door
The hundreds of objects displayed show the Seneca's and Haudenosaunee's creative response to new technologies and materials introduced following European Contact. Clan and family continue to bind communities together and define who the Seneca and Haudenosaunee are.
ROCHESTER MUSEUM & SCIENCE CENTER
STRASENBURGH PLANETARIUM
657 East Avenue
24-hr. recorded info: (585)271-1880 www.rmsc.org
Weekends & Evenings: (585)697-1945; Weekdays: (585)697-1942
NOTE: All Wednesday and Saturday showings of giant-screen films include open captioning on the screen with support from the Theater Development Fund TAP Plus program, in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.
Giant-Screen Films PLUS CineMuse Hi-Def Cinema Shows
New CineMuse Hi-Def Cinema programs, added to our giant-screen films, bring more variety to the show lineup, with imagery projected in a bright, crisp field right in front of you on the dome! CineMuse shows come from the world's top producers of nature and science documentaries.
Admission: adults $10; seniors and college students with ID $9; ages 3–18 $8; RMSC members and children under 3 free. Children under 5 years old are admitted to daytime shows only.
Giant-screen film "Wild Ocean" PLUS CineMuse hi-def feature "The Song of Africa"
Length: 65 min. For all ages.
Wild Ocean
Witness the feeding frenzy that takes place each year as billions of sardines migrate up the east coast of southern Africa. See spectacular breaching whales and feeding sharks up close on the giant screen.
The Song of Africa
Experience a visual and musical celebration of the timeless rhythms of life on the African savannah. Photography by Tadayuki Naito. Music by percussionist Hiromiki Okano.
Times for this two-show program:
Wednesdays, December 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 2pm
Fridays, December 4, 11 & 18 at 4pm
Saturdays at 4pm & 8pm
Sundays at 4pm
Monday–Thursday, December 28–31 at 2:30pm
Family Nature Hour: Giant-screen Film "Beavers" PLUS CineMuse hi-def feature "The Octopus Challenge"
Length: 60 min. For all ages.
Beavers
A family favorite returns! Dive underwater and into a lodge with beavers who grew up in the presence of the film camera. See how these animal engineers construct dams and lodges.
The Octopus Challenge
This BBC/Animal Planet production shows the remarkable octopus squeezing into tiny spaces, sniffing out hidden food, even opening doors!
Times for this two-show program:
Saturdays at 2:30pm
Sundays at 1pm
Thursday, December 24 at 1pm
Monday–Thursday, December 28–31 at 1pm
Star Shows Sponsored by CooperVision
My Planets
Length: 35 min. For children ages 3–5 and the adults with them.
Especially for young children, this friendly introduction to the planetarium features worlds in our solar system as they appear in the sky and through a telescope.
Show Times: Saturdays at 10am
Admission: $7; RMSC members free.
Cosmic Disasters
Length: 60 min. For ages 6 to adult.
Asteroid impacts, planetary alignments, prowling black holes, events in 2012—get a scientific perspective on what's worth worrying about.
Show Times:
Saturdays at 1pm
Monday–Thursday, December 28–31 at 4pm
Admission: adults $10; seniors and college students with ID $9; ages 3–18 $8; RMSC members and children under 3 free.
Laser Shows
Saturday Night Laser Show:
Intensely colored beams from argon and krypton lasers fill the planetarium dome with dazzling color patterns that spontaneously dance to classic rock music. Shows change monthly.
December Laser Show: '90s Laser
Length: 50 min. Children under five are not admitted to this show.
Experience the music of R.E.M., Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more through the planetarium's powerful six-channel digital sound system!
Show Times: Saturdays in December at 9:30pm
Admission: adults $10; seniors, college students, students ages 5–18, and RMSC members $9. (Children under age 5 are not admitted to Saturday Night Laser.)
Holiday Songs and Skies with Mr. Jack Frost—Through January 3
Length: 50 min. For all ages.
A holiday must-see! Mr. Frost is back—trading the world's corniest space jokes with his sidekick Ed, pointing out winter constellations, and introducing holiday songs choreographed to colorful laser light.
Show Times:
Saturdays at 11:30am
Sundays at 2:30pm
Thursday, December 24 at 11:30am & 2:30pm
Monday–Thursday, December 28–31 at 11:30am
Admission: adults $10; seniors and college students with ID $9; ages 3–18 $8; RMSC members $1 off each admission.
Free Saturday Evening Telescope Viewing
Climb 60 steps at the back of the planetarium to view the heavens through a 12.5-inch diameter reflecting telescope operated by knowledgeable amateur astronomers from the Astronomy Section of the Rochester Academy of Science. Before Coming: Please phone the box office after 7:30pm to confirm the telescope is open: (585)697-1945.
Times: Saturday nights (weather permitting) from dark till about 10:00pm
Admission: Free
Challenger Learning Center
Embark on a virtual voyage to Mars—a high-tech, hands-on space flight simulation. Coordinated by "Mission Commanders" from Monroe #1 BOCES, this unique experience is educational and fun. Note: Children must be at least 7 years old. Children ages 7 to 10 must be teamed one-to-one with an adult. Reservations required: call (585)697-1942.
Mission Time: Tuesday, December 29, 10am–12pm
Mission Fees: adults $16, children $13. RMSC members receive $2 discount on each admission.
ROCHESTER MUSEUM & SCIENCE CENTER
CUMMING NATURE CENTER
6472 Gulick Road, Naples, NY 14512
(585)374-6160 www.rmsc.org
NOTE: Cumming Nature Center is closed for seasonal maintenance through December 25. The nature center will re-open on Saturday, December 26 for winter activities.
Hours (beginning December 26):
Trails open five days a week—Wednesday through Friday, 9am–3:30pm; Saturday and Sunday 9am–4:30pm (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). NOTE: The nature center will be closed on Friday, January 1 (New Year's Day).
Admission:
RMSC members free; Non-members: donation welcome—$3/person; $10 (maximum)/family.
Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing
Trails will open for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing beginning Saturday, December 26 (weather permitting).
• 15 miles of groomed ski trails
• 2-mile loop for snowshoeing
Equipment rentals available: ski package (skis, poles and shoes) $15/day; snowshoes $5/day.
Ski trails are monitored by volunteers from the Genesee Valley Nordic Ski Patrol.
Funding for maintenance of Cumming Nature Center's trails is provided by NYS Senator Dale M. Volker.
Rochester Museum & Science Center receives major funding from Monroe County. RMSC includes a planetarium, nature center, and science/regional history museum. The Rochester Museum & Science Center stimulates broad community interest and understanding of science and technology, and their impact—past, present, future—on our lives. For more information about RMSC, see . ###
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