MUSEUM HOURS:
Monday–Saturday: 9am–5pm
Sunday: 11am–5pm
HOLIDAY HOURS:
Christmas Eve: Thursday, December, 24: 9am–3pm
Christmas Day: Friday, December 25: CLOSED
MUSEUM ADMISSION:
$13 adults, $12 seniors and college students with ID, $11 ages 3–18, free for children under 3 and RMSC members.
STRASENBURGH PLANETARIUM HOURS AND ADMISSION:
See show schedule.
MUSEUM AND STRASENBURGH PLANETARIUM COMBINED ADMISSION:
$17 adults, $15 seniors and college students with ID, $14 ages 3-18
CUMMING NATURE CENTER HOURS:
Re-opens Saturday, December 26 for skiing and snowshoeing.
CUMMING NATURE CENTER ADMISSION:
RMSC members free; General public requested donation—$3 per person; $10 per family.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with museum admission.
Science Alive—Sponsored by Time Warner Cable
When the kids are off from school, we put fun science live on center stage. Exciting experiments with museum educators, hands-on explorations with science experts from our community, live animal presentations and singing lightning in the Electricity Theater are just some of the Science Alive experiences you’ll have at the RMSC.
Holiday Science & Technology Days
Saturday, December 26–Wednesday, December 30: 11am–3pm
Try your hand at experiments in engineering, chemistry and more with RMSC staff, local scientists and organizations. Spark your curiosity.
Eddie the Elk and the Twelve Days of Christmas
December 5, 6, 12, 13 and 19: 1pm and 3pm
Enjoy this fun holiday favorite performed by the amazing RMSC Players!
The Night Before Christmas
December 20: 1pm and 3pm
RMSC Players perform! It’s not the typical “silent night” in this fun approach to a traditional tale.
Electricity Theater Carol with the Coils
Saturdays and Sundays in December
Lightning zaps across the stage set to the joyful music of holiday favorites. Join in on the sing-a-long!
Visit www.rmsc.org for the full schedule.
Kwanzaa
December 29: 2:30–5pm
A celebration of family, community and culture. Presented by the Kwanzaa Coalition
Science Encounters
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 10:15am, 11:15am, 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm and 3:15pm
Balance a bicycle wheel in one hand, explore nanoscience—try your hand at some of these fun science encounters with RMSC staff and volunteers in exhibit galleries.
Science On a Sphere® Presentations
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: Check www.rmsc.org for specific times coming soon
Engage in the wonders of our planet and beyond as you experience scientific data in three dimensions on our giant globe. See Earth and the universe in a whole new way through stunning projections of atmospheric storms, climate change, planetary activity and ocean temperature.
Featured Presenters
Exciting upcoming programs with featured scientists and science enthusiasts from across the community! Check www.rmsc.org for details.
Wildlife Defenders
Every Saturday & Sunday Now-January 10: 12:30pm & 2:30pm (also select school breaks and special events)
Live animal presentations, including Eastern Grey Kangaroo, African Crested Porcupine and South American Marine Toads, and environmental and wildlife conservation awareness.
Riedman Gallery
Show times are subject to change. Call 585.697.1942 to confirm. To request an interpreter for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, please call at least two weeks in advance: 585.697.1942.
Simulator Rides
Enjoy special limited-time only simulator rides throughout the year. Most* special rides are $1 per person (members included). Visitors can enjoy the Lake Ontario ride daily for free.
Subzero
Prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier and jet through rugged arctic terrain in search of a disabled submarine.
December: Daily
Hurricane Simulator
Experience the power of 75mph hurricane-force winds! Several people can experience at the same time for the price of one simulation.
*$2 charge per simulation (members included).
Daily
Richard C. Shultz Science on the Edge Lectures
Explore cutting-edge science, Museum exploration and meeting with the speakers in a unique after-hours experience. RMSC Bausch Auditorium. Lectures start at 6:30pm. Register: 585.697.1942 or at www.rmsc.org
Is Climate Change Real or is it Just a Myth?
Presenter: Chiara Borrelli, University of Rochester research fellow in oceanography and paleoclimatology
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Tickets: Adult RMSC Member: $13, Adult General Public: $15; Student RMSC Member: $7, Student General Public: $8
Are we wired to think or just thinking of wires?
Presenter: John O’Donnell, MS, PhD candidate, University of Rochester Medical Center
Thursday, December 10, 2015
FREE Admission
Physics of Photovoltaics: From the Beginning to Next Generation Nanotechnologies
Presenter: Dr. Stephen Polly, Rochester Institute of Technology NanoPower Research Labs
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Tickets: Adult RMSC Member: $13, Adult General Public: $15; Student RMSC Member: $7, Student General Public: $8
Celebrate the International Year of Light 2015
Activities all year long
Get excited about light-based technologies and experience this colorful world as we dive into the hands-on fun of optics and reveal the vital role light plays in our daily lives. Illuminate that drive within as you shed light on your path toward a bright future. Visit www.rmsc.org for details on RMSC activities and roctheYOL.com for a full list of community events.
EXHIBITS:
Frogs: A Chorus of Colors traveling exhibition
Open for a Limited Time!
Media sponsors: Entercom Radio and KidsOutAndAbout.com
Discover fascinating living frogs, each adapted ingeniously for survival in locations around the world. Examine them as they jump, climb and glide in their natural environments recreated in astonishing detail. From the tropical forests, frozen tundras and scorching deserts, observe a large collection of rare and unusual frogs up close and in seldom-seen detail. Explore the striking variety of frogs including the sure-footed tree frogs and the jewel-toned poison dart frog. Camouflage, poison and mimicry are strategies that have shepherded these vulnerable creatures through time. Many frogs serve as important signs of our environment’s health and stability. In addition to observing these amphibians, immerse yourself in a frog-filled world as you find hidden frogs, activate frog calls and perform a virtual dissection. Enjoy unique frog-related items from RMSC’s collections, including frog skeletons. It’s a full hands-on, minds-on adventure as you leap into nature’s rainbow-colored ecosystem and discover the important role frogs play in our lives.
Special live animal shows every weekend throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Science On a Sphere
Permanent experience
Engage in the wonders of our planet and beyond as you experience scientific data in three dimensions on our giant globe. See Earth and the universe in a whole new way through stunning projections of atmospheric storms, climate change, planetary activity and ocean temperature.
Illumination: The World of Light and Optics
Experiment with lasers, lenses and mirrors as you explore the nature of light and optics. Immerse yourself in more than fifteen hands-on exhibits that demonstrate exciting scientific concepts including reflection and refraction, radio waves and color temperature. Crank, spin and illuminate to make light bend, sound emanate and shadows dance. Spark a passion for science within as you and discover the true wonders of light.
The American Civil War: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution
Now–Friday, January 15, 2016
Industry and new technologies had a huge impact on the military during the Civil War. Learn how the railroad, telegraph, photography and other advancements influenced the war. Discover unique items on display including rifles, military equipment, diaries and uniforms worn by local soldiers.
Inventor Center
Supporting Sponsor: Xerox Foundation; Media Sponsor: Democrat and Chronicle Media Group; Made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Constellation, an Exelon company and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor Hours: 10am–4:30pm on weekends and holidays and 2–4:30pm Monday–Friday
Power cities, build cars, harness wind and fire catapults. Dive into a hands-on exploration of the inventive process. Participate in engineering and design challenges as you tinker with raw materials to create working inventions that can be tested and shared. Challenges change every 3-5 months.
Current challenge: Make it Fly, Make it Shine—A dark storm is approaching! Build a device that can fly in a storm and shimmer through the darkness.
Nano Mini-Exhibit (Located in Strasenburgh Planetarium)
Imagine and discover a world you can’t see! Get the family together and become engaged in the world of nanoscale science, engineering and technology. Hands-on exhibits present the basics of nano, introduce real-world applications and explore the implications of this new technology.
Electricity Theater
Featuring “singing” Tesla coils, Electricity Theater is a display of brilliant lightning zaps accompanied by popular music. Visitors watch the dark theater become splashed with light via twin solid-state Tesla coils, and allow that spark in them to ignite as they explore the excitement of electricity and all that goes with it. Visit and experience our Faraday cage!
Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays (Including School Breaks): 12pm, 2pm and 4pm
Erie Canal Lock
Crank open those lock doors and operate a tugboat. Get hands-on insights into how canal locks work in the real world.
KEVA Planks
Come build with us! Construct wooden masterpieces of all shapes and sizes with KEVA Planks, a building exhibit experience. Precision cut, identical construction blocks, KEVA Planks stack with surprising stability. Using only gravity, visitors dabble with physics in order to achieve balance, optimum proportion and strength.
Under Construction: Building Careers
Founding Supporters: Builders Exchange of Rochester, Max & Marian Farash Charitable Foundation, UNICON, John W. Danforth Company, LeChase Construction Services, LLC, Manning Squires Hennig Company, Inc. and O’Connell Electric Company
Drill into an exciting hands-on exploration of construction trades. Built in-house by RMSC staff, the exhibition features the fascinating jobs of electricians, plumbers and other trade specialists. Maneuver a giant crane on the “job site,” install plumbing for a sink and much more. Also, learn from local trade professionals who built the Sustainability Institute Hall, home of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability on campus at RIT.
ENERGIZE it — Support from: Rochester Gas & Electric
Built in-house by RMSC staff and volunteers, ENERGIZE it is a multi-sensory, highly physical experience where YOU hold the power. Compare types of energy, power a city and learn about which forms are “green.” Cycle, push and pump to create power and discover the outcome—wind blows, water flows and lights shine.
AdventureZone
Dive to the bottom of Lake Ontario in the Deep Submergence Vehicle simulator. Test your strength on the Genesee Gorge climbing wall. Explore Rochester weather. Experiment with wind currents, stream erosion and more.
Expedition Earth
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.
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.
Raceways
Discover the principles of moving objects. Experiment with momentum, friction, gravity and acceleration as you send wooden balls looping and racing over ramps.
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.
At the Western Door
The hundreds of objects displayed show the Seneca’s and Haudenosaunee’s creative responses 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.
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. Learn about the achievements of our newly inducted 2015 laureates.
STRASENBURGH PLANETARIUM
657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607
Weekends & Evenings: 585.697.1945 | Weekdays: 585.697.1942
Shows subject to change | See full schedule at www.rmsc.org
Giant-Screen Films
Admission: adults $7; seniors and college students with ID $6; ages 3–18 $6; RMSC members $3, children under 3 free. Children under 5 years old are admitted to daytime shows only.
Giant-screen films on Wednesdays and Saturdays include open captioning on the screen with support from the Theatre Development Fund TAP Plus program, in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.
“The Living Sea”
Length: 45 min. For all ages.
Explore a world beyond land. Colorful underwater photography, a hopeful message, music by Sting and narration by Meryl Streep. Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
Star Shows
Admission: adults $7; seniors and college students $6; ages 3–18 $6; RMSC members and children under 3 free.
“New Discoveries in Our Solar System”
Length: 60 min. For ages 6 years to adult.
We have so much to show you – a comet passing near the Sun, geysers on a moon of Saturn, more clues about water on Mars, another spacecraft approaching Jupiter, and the latest Pluto pictures downloaded from the New Horizons spacecraft. Our high-resolution video system makes this a visual extravaganza!
Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
“The Earliest Light”
Length: 60 min. For ages 6 years to adult.
Light from the Big Bang surrounds us, but was discovered only 50 years ago. Plunge into the deep autumn night to see how the “cosmic microwave background” tells us about the early Universe. Part of RMSC’s participation in the International Year of Light.
Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
“Saturday Night Skies”
Length: 30 min. For ages 5 years to adult.
This concise tour of the stars, constellations and planets in the current sky uses new solid-state lasers to guide you through the Planetarium’s magnificent indoor starfield.
Saturdays at 7:30pm (show times subject to change—confirm at www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium)
“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: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
“Saturday Sun, Moon and Stars”
Length: 45 min. For ages 5 to 7 and the adults with them.
This relaxed, enjoyable family show presents prominent constellations and takes the audience on a quick trip to the moon. See what Earth looks like from a quarter million miles away, and return home in time for sunrise.
Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
Saturday Night Laser Shows
Sponsored by City Newspaper
Thanks to its pure wavelengths, laser light provides an intense color sensation whether faint or dazzlingly bright. Our new solid-state lasers put brighter and more intense color than ever before among the stars inside the Planetarium dome, accompanying great songs on a top-quality sound system.
December Shows
Dave Matthews Laser Saturdays at 8:15pm | 90s Laser Laser Saturdays at 9:30pm
Length: 60 minutes each. Children under age 5 are not admitted to this show.
Admission for ONE show: adults $7; seniors, college students, students ages 5–18, RMSC members $6.
Admission for BOTH shows, back-to-back: adults $11; seniors, college students, students ages 5–18, RMSC members $9.
Holiday Laser
Length: 50 min. For all ages
With a playlist freshened up with new songs, this traditional favorite returns the weekend before Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season. A mix of festive holiday music from classical and pop traditions accompanies unique visual effects and choreographed laser light among the Planetarium stars. Our new solid-state lasers bring brighter and more intense color.
Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
CUMMING NATURE CENTER
6472 Gulick Road, Naples, NY 14512
585.374.6160 | www.rmsc.org
Hours: Re-opens Saturday, December 26 for skiing and snowshoeing
Trails open five days a week: Wednesday through Friday, 9am–3:30pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9am–4:30pm (closed Monday and Tuesday).
Admission: RMSC members free; General public donation requested—$3 per person; $10 per family.
Ski package (skis, poles & boots) $15; Snowshoes $5
Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) includes the Science Museum, Strasenburgh Planetarium and Cumming Nature Center. Offering experiences at the Museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits, Planetarium with a 65-foot dome and Nature Center on 900 acres, the RMSC stimulates community interest in exploration. In addition, the more than 1.2 million RMSC collection items tell the story of Rochester’s past including its rich history of innovation and invention. RMSC receives major funding from Monroe County, where it is one of the top three most visited attractions serving children and families. For more information about RMSC, visit www.rmsc.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram
