Full Dome Programs

The Francis Malcolm Science Center is the only planetarium north of Old Town. We are pleased to present full dome shows to your students that are related to topics you are studying. For a listing of the shows we own, you can see them on our website, Francis Malcolm Science Center or request a list from us. These you can watch at no charge. We are also able to rent them through Full Dome on Demand, https://www.fulldomeondemand/shows_ato.html. If the rental fee is more than $30, we ask that you pay the difference. If you choose to view a Full Dome show only, we can provide a follow-up activity to enhance and reinforce the program. For example, Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast is our most frequently watched Full Dome show. Here are a few of the activities we have developed to accompany it:

Solar System Bingo: Place beans on the planet or other bodies in the solar system as they are described.

Who Am I?: Rocketing from one planet to the next, pairs of students identify the planet by reading a clue associated with where they land.

Alien Quest: Your small group will take on a mission to locate an alien who has that you help us defray the cost.

You can also pair a Full Dome Show with a hike or one of our other programs. This requires a morning session, lunch, and afternoon session.

Things to know before you come:

1. Please contact us to set up a program at least two weeks before you wish to come to allow us to adapt the program to fit your needs.

2. Use the email addresses below to set up a program. Please do not call the Science Center, there is no one here full time to answer the telephone or take messages.

3. 4. Please do not bring fewer than 10 students to a program. If your visit extends through lunch, we ask that you bring garbage bags to take the trash back to school. We no longer have a garbage service.

5. We ask that you and your students provide us feedback by completing Exit Tickets upon your return to school. These help us to continually improve our programming.

6. Dressing for the Season: It is important that your students dress appropriately for the season of your visit. The Plantation, Vernal Pool, Norway Spruce, and Black Spruce Bog Trails where we hike are in the shade making it much cooler. Depending upon the time of your visit, more details will be sent on suggested clothing.

7. We ask that you check with your students before you come to see who can have their photos taken for our Facebook page.

Pricing of Programs

We are a 501(c)3 organization run by all volunteers and dependent upon donations and grants. The Francis Malcolm Science Center has always presented programs for free. However, due to limited funds, we can no longer do this. Fees help to defray the cost of materials for programs and the upkeep of the building, as well as utilities. These fees apply to schools, organizations such as Boy and Girl Scouts, homeschool students, recreation departments, and other alternative educational programming.

$5 per student for one day of programing at the Center. Educators and parents are not charged.

Fewer than 10 students: $50

Schools who have donated a lump sum of money to us are not charged. You may come to as many programs as you desire depending upon time availability. Summer school visits are included in the previous year’s donation. Please check with your superintendent.