Living in America: Changing Climate, Changing Environment

• Three Saturdays, January 17–31,
  12–5 pm
• Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
• Free with Museum admission
• This program is supported by funds from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

In conjunction with the Museum’s timely exhibition Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future, this year’s Living in America series will feature environmental stories and narratives from local, national, and international communities, told through performances, discussions, films, and more. Some participants include Sachem Dwaine Perry and other representatives of the Ramapo Mountain Lenape Community, Work o’ the Weavers folk quartet, Polynesian Dance Productions, Nukariik (Inuit Performance Group), folklorist Dr. Ellen McHale, Polar Explorer Will Steger, and traditional Mohawk basket weavers.

Understanding Climate Change

• Three Thursdays, January 22, 29 and February 5
  6:30–8:30 pm
• Sackler Educational Laboratory, first floor
• $125 materials included
• Adults 16 and over. Enrollment is limited
• Code: EK012209

An in-depth introduction to climate change with Stuart Gaffin, Associate Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University. Understand what climate change is, how it is studied, what it means for New Yorkers, and what scientists propose as possible solutions.

© NASA

Twinkling Stars I

• Two Tuesdays, January 13 and 20
• Rose Center Classroom, fourth floor
• $60/pair
• (Ages 4-6, each child with one adult)
• Code: EC011309

This program introduces budding astronomers to the night sky. Classroom activities and observations in the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater reveal the stars above and the ancient stories and traditions that have followed them through the ages.

Robots in Space III

• Three Wednesdays, January 14-28, 2009
• Rose Center Classroom, fourth floor
• $90
• (Ages 8 - 10)
• Code: EC011409

If you’ve already taken Robots in Space I and II or have some experience with the Lego Mindstorms kit, this class will help you hone your skills as an expert robot designer. Create the most supreme robot rover to take on the ultimate challenge of the series.

SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAG

What is the Difference Between Climate and Weather?

• Sunday, January 11
• 11-12:30 pm (4th and 5th graders)
  1-3 pm (6th and 7th graders)
• Rose Center Classroom, second floor
• $30 each, $75 for all three workshops
• Code: EC011109

When people ask about the weather, we know what they mean: is it sunny, rainy, or hot? But what does climate mean, and how is it different from weather? In this workshop, we’ll use fun activities to compare their differences and similarities and learn why climate is so important.

SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAG

What is Climate Change?

• Sunday, January 18
• 11-12:30 pm (4th and 5th graders)
  1-3 pm (6th and 7th graders)
• Rose Center Classroom, second floor
• $30 each, $75 for all three workshops
• Code: EC011809

 Is Earth really getting hotter? Will a polar bear one day be your neighbor? Using the new exhibition Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future, we will examine the elements of climate change; its impact on Earth; and what that means for animals like polar bears, penguins—and us!

SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAG

What Can We Do About Climate Change?

• Sunday, January 25
• 11-12:30 pm (4th and 5th graders)
• Rose Center Classroom, second floor
• $30 each, $75 for all three workshops
• Session A
• Code: EC012509
• Add Session A to my Calendar:
• Session B
• Code: EC012509B
• 1-3 pm (6th and 7th graders)
• Add Session B to my Calendar:

We know that Earth’s climate is changing—but what can you do about it? Is recycling enough? What exactly are greenhouse gases? Discover just how much energy you use in your daily life, and learn ways you can reduce your personal impact on the planet and help others to do the same.

Lunchtime Winter Bird Walks

• Three Thursdays, January 15, 22 and 29
  12–1:30 pm
• AMNH / Central Park
• $75
• Code: EW011509

Catch a peek at owls, songbirds, and woodpeckers in the woods; seed-eating birds in the fields; and many species of ducks and gulls in the lakes as Paul Sweet, Collections Manager in the Department of Ornithology, guides you through these three Central Park habitats to observe the varied bird species of New York City. Participants meet at the entrance to Central Park on the corner of Central Park West and 77th Street, across the street from the Museum.

Living in America: Changing Climate, Changing Environment

• Three Saturdays, January 17–31,
  12–5 pm
• Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
• Free with Museum admission
• This program is supported by funds from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

In conjunction with the Museum’s timely exhibition Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future, this year’s Living in America series will feature environmental stories and narratives from local, national, and international communities, told through performances, discussions, films, and more. Some participants include Sachem Dwaine Perry and other representatives of the Ramapo Mountain Lenape Community, Work o’ the Weavers folk quartet, Polynesian Dance Productions, Nukariik (Inuit Performance Group), folklorist Dr. Ellen McHale, Polar Explorer Will Steger, and traditional Mohawk basket weavers.

Signed Tours - The Age of Dinosaurs: Giants of the Past

• Saturday, January 24
• 1:30 p.m.
• Meet in Roosevelt Rotunda, 2nd Floor
• Free with Museum admission

Professor Gabriel Grayson, sign language interpreter and Chair of the Sign Language Department at the New School for General Studies, and a Museum Tour Guide lead tours of permanent and special exhibitions for both deaf and hearing audiences with simultaneous signed and spoken tours. Join us for a fascinating tour of the Museum’s world-class collection of fossils. Experience for yourself, the world's largest collection of vertebrate fossils, totaling nearly one million specimens.

Hayden Special IYA 2009 Lecture: The Journey to Palomar

• Thursday, January 15
• 6:30 pm
• Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
• $15 ($13.50 Members, students, senior citizens)
• Advance registration is encouraged.
• Code: EL011509

Join us for an exclusive screening and meet the filmmakers of the PBS special The Journey to Palomar, a film about American astronomer George Ellery Hale’s dramatic public and private struggle to build the four largest telescopes of the 20th century. Following the film, in honor of the UN’s International Year of Astronomy, Dr. Ben Oppenheimer will discuss the present state of astronomy. The evening will give a historical perspective on modern astronomy from the end of the 19th century to the present, along with some musings on the future.

Mario Livio - Is God a Mathematician?

• Monday, January 12
• 7:30 pm
• Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
• $15 ($13.50 Members, students, senior citizens)
• Code: EL011209

For centuries, mathematical theories have proven uncannily accurate at describing–and predicting–the physical world. What is it that gives mathematics such power? Mario Livio attempts to answer this question in his new book Is God A Mathematician?. Spanning such fields as cosmology, physics, and cognitive science, Mario offers an accessible and lively account of the lives and thoughts of some of the greatest mathematicians and scientists in history, from Archimedes to Galileo, Descartes to Gödel, and on up to today.

Winter Skies

• Tuesday, January 27
• 6:30 p.m.
• Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
• $15 ($13.50 Members, students, senior citizens) Advance registration encouraged
• Advanced registration is encouraged. These programs are supported, in part, by Val and Min-Myn Schaffner.
• Code: HM012709

View the constellations in our coldest nighttime sky.

From the Field: Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters

• Thursday, January 8
• 6:30 p.m.
• Linder Theater, first floor
• $15 ($13.50 Members, students, senior citizens)
• Code: EL010809

Donald R. Prothero vividly illustrates how the fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. Tackling subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo- Darwinism and macroevolution, he takes us on a grand tour that sheds light on such subjects as invertebrate transitions, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Donald R. Prothero is Professor of Geology at Occidental College and a lecturer in geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. Introduced by Niles Eldredge, Curator, AMNH Department of Invertebrates. A book signing follows.

Ivory's Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants

• Wednesday, January 14
• 6:30 p.m.
• Linder Theater, first floor
• $15 ($13.50 Members, students, senior citizens)
• Code: EL011409

Join author John Frederick Walker as he describes ivory’s troubled history and uncertain future—and the fate of the elephants themselves. In the past, elephants were nearly eradicated by an insatiable demand for ivory. As their habitats are threatened by agriculture and development, can that desire now be channeled to protect these magnificent creatures? A book signing follows.

Understanding Climate Change

• Three Thursdays, January 22, 29 and February 5
  6:30–8:30 pm
• Sackler Educational Laboratory, first floor
• $125 materials included
• Adults 16 and over. Enrollment is limited
• Code: EK012209

An in-depth introduction to climate change with Stuart Gaffin, Associate Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University. Understand what climate change is, how it is studied, what it means for New Yorkers, and what scientists propose as possible solutions.

Wild Ocean  

Wild Ocean, a captivating IMAX film, features original music by award-winning directors Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, and captures one of the world's greatest migrations. Produced by the creators of the international sensation STOMP and directors of the award-winning Giant Screen film Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey, this 40-minute film explores the annual feeding frenzy that takes place in the oceans off of South Africa as billions of sardines migrate up the KwaZulu-Natal Wild Coast, followed by whales, sharks, dolphins, and gannets.

Wild Ocean delves into this underwater struggle for survival and examines the effects of global warming and overfishing on this great migration and the local people. If this route is changed, or if the number of sardines decreases, the entire ecosystem could change, harming humans and every species tied to these tiny fish. In South Africa, business, government, and the locals have joined forces in an attempt to protect this great and invaluable migration.

Screenings of Wild Ocean are held daily in the LeFrak Theater at the following times: 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

Dinosaurs Alive!  

Dinosaurs Alive!, a stunning large-format film narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas, follows current American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) paleontologists as they hunt for dinosaur remains in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. This 40-minute film shot, in part, at the Museum features the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period and the creatures of the Cretaceous Period brought to life through the magic of realistic computer-generated animation.

Dinosaurs Alive! shows AMNH paleontologists Mike Novacek and Mark Norell and an inspired team of dedicated young graduate students on an expedition to the Gobi Desert. Following in the footsteps of AMNH scientist and adventurer Roy Chapman Andrews, Novacek and Norell have been making annual treks to the Gobi every summer for the past 17 years. The film also features rare and beautifully preserved footage of Andrews—believed to be the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character—on one of his five expeditions there in the 1920s. Andrews and his team uncovered hundreds of dinosaur remains, including the first Velociraptor and dinosaur nests with eggs.

Screenings of Dinosaurs Alive are held daily in the LeFrak Theater at the following times: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.

Space Shows in the Hayden Planetarium

An illustration of the solar wind interacting with Earth's magnetic field.

© American Museum of Natural History/NASA

Cosmic Collisions  

• 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. every half hour, except Wednesdays
• Wednesday shows begin at 11:00 a.m.
• Visit the Cosmic Collisions Web site for more information and to view the trailer.

A spectacular immersive theater experience, Cosmic Collisions launches visitors on a thrilling trip through space and time—well beyond the calm face of the night sky—to explore cosmic collisions, hypersonic impacts that drive the dynamic and continuing evolution of the universe. Groundbreaking scientific simulations and visualizations based on cutting-edge research developed by Museum astrophysicists, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other international colleagues—many seen for the first time—depict the dramatic and explosive encounters that shaped our solar system, changed the course of life on Earth, and continue to transform our galaxy. The new show explores the full range of space collisions, past, present, and future.

Cosmic Collisions is narrated by award-winning actor, director, and producer Robert Redford.

The Zeiss mark IX star projector inside the Hayden Planetarium.

© D. Finnin/AMNH

New! Field Trip to the Moon  

• Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
• Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

On this trip to the Moon in the immersive Hayden Planetarium, you'll feel the ground shake as your rocket launches, see a sunrise in space, and orbit and land on the Moon. Guided by a live presenter, you'll admire the view from where humans last walked on the Moon, and see what awaits us on future missions.

For more information click here.

How Do You See Your Music?

Heaven: Temple of Eyes "Honestly"
This soaring image was created by artist Alex Grey to accompany Zwan's "Honestly" and adapted from his painting Collective Vision.

© D. Finnin/AMNH

SonicVision  

• SonicVision is Presented every Friday and Saturday evening, at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.

The American Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with MTV2, presents SonicVision, a groundbreaking digitally animated alternative music show.

SonicVision takes audiences in the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater on a mind-warping musical roller-coaster ride through fantastical dreamspace. With a mix by Moby and featuring tracks from Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, Prodigy, The Flaming Lips, Fischerspooner, Spiritualized, Audioslave, Stereolab, Boards of Canada, David Byrne and Brian Eno, Goldfrapp, Zwan, White Zombie, and Moby, the music ignites this one-of-a-kind computer-generated musical and visual experience, which uses next-generation digital technology to illuminate the Planetarium's dome with a dazzling morphing of colorful visions. SonicVision is presented every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., in the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum's Rose Center for Earth and Space.