MUSEUM HOURS:
Monday–Saturday: 9am–5pm
Sunday: 11am–5pm
HOLIDAY HOURS:
Labor Day: Monday, September 7: 11am–5pm
SPECIAL CLOSURE:
Museum CLOSED Monday, September 21–Saturday, September 26 for renovations and campus improvement.
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:
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; General public requested donation—$3 per person; $10 per family.
SPECIAL EVENTS: Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with museum admission.
Innovation Celebration
Friday, September 25: 6pm
Join us for a radiant evening benefitting the Rochester Museum & Science Center! Guests will discover the science of light and optics and celebrate the vital role this colorful world plays in making bright futures a reality. Visit www.rmsc.org to purchase tickets and for details about sponsorship opportunities.
Summer STEAM with a Theme
Through Sunday, September 6
It’s non-stop action every day with amazing experiments for the whole family to enjoy. Fiery explosions by our extreme demonstrators, amazing animal presenters, cool artifacts from the RMSC collection vaults and awesome take-home activities are just some of the festivities waiting for you this summer. Discover the fun of science, technology, engineering, art and math—STEAM!
- Mayhem Mondays: 1pm and 3pm
Start the week off with a bang…literally! See wild explosions including bursts of lightning in Electricity Theater . - Take Away Tuesdays: 1pm and 3pm
Explore science through completing hands-on activities that you can make and take home with you! - Wildlife Wednesdays: 1pm and 3pm
Encounter live animals up close. Meet critters from the Seneca Park Zoo. - Throwback Thursdays: 1pm and 3pm
What lies deep in the vaults of the RMSC? Let’s find out! Learn about different cultures, see fascinating objects and discover Rochester’s past. - Foolish Fridays: 1pm and 3pm
The sky is falling! No, it’s a watermelon falling from the Strasenburgh Planetarium tower. See drops, flops and other fun physics in action! - Visit us Saturdays and Sundays , too, for even more fascinating hands-on activities and shows that’ll keep you coming back again and again! Also, enjoy Electricity Theater shows and science demos throughout the day, every day! Visit www.rmsc.org for details.
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 animals presentations and singing lightning in the Electricity Theater are just some of the Science Alive experiences you’ll have at the RMSC.
- Electricity Theater
Get “charged up” and see amazing arcs of lightning.
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 4pm - Live Science
Exciting science demonstrations featuring fiery explosions and extreme temperatures performed by the RMSC
Players in the Bausch Auditorium.
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 1pm and 3pm - Science Encounters
Balance a bicycle wheel in one hand, explore nanoscience or meet some of RMSC’s live animal friends during these fun science encounters with RMSC staff and volunteers in exhibit galleries.
Saturdays, Sundays and School Breaks: 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm and 3:30pm
Show times are subject to change. Call 585.697.1942 to confirm. To request an interpreter for the deaf and hard-ofhearing, 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.
- Magic Carpet Ride
Fly along with a genie and his magic carpet through a mystical world to save a princess.
September: 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).
September: Daily
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.
Fantastic Findings Garage Sale
9am-4pm: Thursday, September 24
9am-4pm: Friday, September 25
9am-2pm: Saturday, September 26
A “next to new” sale, Fantastic Findings features china, crystal, silver, lamps, jewelry, linens, art, toys and other fantastic treasures and collectibles.
To donate, drop off items between 8:30am-4pm Monday, September 21-Wednesday, September 23. For details, contact Betty Schaeffer at 585.244.2074.
EXHIBITS:
Science On a Sphere
Permanent experience
Engage in the wonders of our planet and beyond as data in 3-D of land, oceans, atmosphere and more are projected in stunning detail on a giant glowing globe. Explore atmospheric storms, climate change, planetary activity and ocean temperature through captivating animations. Control the scenes and come see Earth and the universe in a whole new way.
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
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.
Challenge: Make it Fly, Make it Shine—through September 20— A dark storm is approaching! Build a device that can fly in a storm and shimmer through the darkness.
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 realworld 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 new Faraday cage! Saturdays and Sundays: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays: 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.
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 - “Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia”
Length: 50 min. For ages 6 through adult
Huge, thundering beasts darken the sky as they tower over you in the Star Theater dome. Never before seen in Rochester, this documentary-style film transports you to the dinosaurs’ world with computer graphics a generation beyond Jurassic Park in accuracy and realism.
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.
- “Pluto At Last”
Length: 60 min. For ages 6 years to adult
Join us for the latest discoveries as the New Horizons space probe plays back the rich trove of pictures and data from its fast flyby of Pluto.
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.
September Shows
Dave Matthews Laser Saturdays at 8:15pm | 70s 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.
Check www.rmsc.org/StrasenburghPlanetarium for playlists and showtimes.
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.
Fantastic Fauna: Paintings by Mary Mullard and Anne Smoral exhibit Now–September 8 Discover the world-class paintings of regional artists Mary Mullard and Anne Smoral juxtaposed with specimens from the RMSC collections. The relationship reveals a personal evolving understanding of mammals and birds and a mastery of acrylic and watercolor media. CNC trails invite you to investigate your own connection to the diverse fauna of Western New York.
Nature in Motion exhibit by Susan Jenkins
Opens September 12
Abstract to realistic, Jenkins’ work is a reflection of the organic movement and dynamism that exists in nature, mimicking the kinetic qualities of matter in its purest form. A visual eruption of brushstroke, print, pattern, color and texture. A Rochester, New York artist, Jenkins has established herself as a nationally recognized painter and mixed media “sculptor.” With a degree in Studio Art from The Nazareth College of Rochester, Jenkins’ artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States.
Walk on the Wild Side
Saturday, September 5: 10am–12pm
Traipse through streams and underbrush, and crawl on the ground and over logs as you explore what on Earth is going on in nature!
Wildflower Hike
Saturday, September 12: 10am-12pm
Explore CNC looking for and identifying the many different species of wildflowers. Discover which wildflowers are native or invasive to this area, and how do they benefit humans and animals.
Blowing With the Wind
Saturday, September 19: 10am-12pm
Guided hike with no specific agenda going where the wind blows us, Observing and exploring who’s doing what.
Fern Identification
Saturday, September 26: 10am-12pm
Did you know that CNC is home to many different types of Ferns, and each is unique in its own way? Come explore and discover their beauty and benefits.
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.
