Museum Hours:
Monday–Saturday: 9am–5pm
Sunday: 11am–5pm
Holiday Hours:
Memorial Day: Monday, May 30: 11am–5pm
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:
Wednesday–Friday: 9am–3:30pm; Saturday–Sunday: 9am–4:30pm
Cumming Nature Center Admission:
RMSC members free; General public requested donation—$3 per person; $10 per family.
Museum Special Events
657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607
Unless otherwise noted, programs are located at RMSC and are free with museum admission
Rain Barrel Workshops
Saturday, May 7: 11am-12pm
Create your own rain barrel and bring it home. Everything supplied but the rain! Call 585.697.1942 to register.
Science Alive
Sponsored by Corning Incorporated Foundation and Time Warner Cable
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.
Electricity Theater
Musical lightning powered by twin Tesla coils zaps across the dark theater. Are you brave enough to get in the Faraday Cage?
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays: 4pm
Science Encounters
Try your hand at fun science experiments with RMSC staff and volunteers in exhibit galleries.
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 10:15am, 11:15am, 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm and 3:15pm
Live Science Shows
Discover fiery explosions and extreme temperatures through live performances on the Bausch Auditorium stage.
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 1pm and 3pm
Science On a Sphere® Presentations
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 11:30am and 1:30pm
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.
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.
RMSC After Dark: Makers Masquerade
Friday, May 13: 7-11pm
Sponsored by City Newspaper
At an evening of mystery and makery, unmask your skills. Learn to solder, make your own masquerade mask and tackle the cardboard challenge. Hands-on inventing not your style? Whirl to music by DJ Saul. Experience science in action, cash bars and food trucks. Must be 21+ to attend. Costumes encouraged.
Tickets: $13 General Public, $10 RMSC Members, $15 Day Of, VIP $30
Tickets Limited. Pre-purchasing tickets is strongly encouraged as past events have sold out.
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.
Wall of China (HD)
Experience the Great Wall of China in a runaway rickshaw.
May: 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
Summer Fun Camps
Monday, June 27–Friday, August 26
Sign up! Explore the excitement of science and discovery from backyard finds to outer space wonders. New camps, more science and lots of FUN! Camps run weekly, Monday-Friday, for ages 2-15.
EXHIBITS:
Science On a Sphere
Permanent experience; Presentations Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 11:30am and 1:30pm
Sponsored by Harris Beach PLLC and O’Connell Electric Company
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.
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. Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays: 4pm
The American Civil War: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution
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 Sponsors: G.W. Lisk Company, Inc. and Xerox Foundation; Made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services 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. Challenge: Lift it, Launch it, Let it Go—Re-invent the perfect projectile launcher. Should it be a catapult, trebuchet, ballista or something completely new?
Nano Mini-Exhibit
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.
Erie Canal Lock
Crank open 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. Discover how our region’s landscape and life forms have changed over hundreds of millions of years. See a full-size mounted mastodon skeleton, uncover bones in the dig site, enter a glacial ice cave and much more.
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
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.
“Face of Earth”
Length: 60 min. For ages 6 years to adult.
Embark on a tour of our changing planet. See how many landmarks you can recognize from an astronaut’s point of view. Immerse yourself in stunning images from NASA’s Terra and Aqua Earth observation satellites and the International Space Station, accompanied by an eclectic musical soundtrack. Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
“The Sky Tonight”
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 magnificent starfield produced by the 46-year-old star projector. See this show, then step outside to see the real sky.
Show times: www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium
“My Planets”
Length: 40 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: 40 min. For ages 5 to 8 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 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.
May Shows
Pink Floyd Laser Saturdays at 8:15pm | U2 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.
Cumming Nature Center
6472 Gulick Road, Naples, NY 14512
585.374.6160
Hours: 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.
Orchestra in the Pines
Saturday, May 28: 2–5pm, Symphony Performance: 3pm
Revel in nature’s acoustics, enjoy regional refreshments and sway with the majestic red pines as the Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra performs a selection of classical, pops and patriotic standards. The event features locally sourced refreshments, including wine and beer for purchase and complimentary snacks. CNC is open all day, so bring the whole crew for a hike, pack a picnic lunch and stick around for this unique combination of Finger Lakes culture and scenery.
Tickets: RMSC Members: $20 Adult, $5 Children; General Public: $25 Adult, $8 Children; Children 5 and under FREE
Guided Hikes
On Saturdays, explore the trails with Cumming Nature Center guides to learn about the plants and animals you may see along the way.
Morning Birdsong Hike
Saturdays, May 7, 14 and 21: 8–10am
Listen for morning birdsong and spot spring birds along the trail.
Wildflower Hike
Saturdays, May 7 and 21: 10am–12pm
Explore CNC as you look for and identify the many different species of wildflowers.
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.
