The Louisiana Art and Science Museum is journeying to the stars with its newest space show.
“Journey to the Stars” is open in conjunction with the museum at the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium and ExxonMobil Space Theater. The show will play on Tuesdays through Sundays from 2-3 p.m. until May 31.
The show, narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg, is an engrossing and immersive theater experience. Featuring extraordinary images from telescopes, both in space and on Earth, and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations, the show transports viewers to a whole new world.
Viewers are sent through time and space in the night sky to experience the life and death of the stars, and the sun, said Planetarium producer Jay Lamm.
“Audiences will tour familiar stellar formations, explore new celestial mysteries and discover the fascinating, unfolding story that connects us all to the stars,” Lamm said. “Those who come along for the journey may never see the night sky in the same way again.”
According to Lamm, the program was created by the American Museum of Natural History’s astrophysicists, scientific visualization and media production experts. NASA and more than 40 leading scientists from the United States and abroad helped with the exhibit, as well.
Before “Journey to the Stars,” viewers are shown two featurettes, “The Winter Sky Tonight” and “Portraits in Space.”
“The Winter Sky Tonight” is this season’s version of the “Sky Tonight” show and is produced with in-house narration by actress Margaret Lawhon. These shows contain all of the pertinent information concerning what can be found in Baton Rouge’s sky, Lamm said.
The planetarium uses actual images and footage of planets, moons and deep space objects. However, he said it is not limited by the season and will stay as up-to-date as possible.
“We’ll continually have updates and pertinent information about what you can find in your night sky,” Lamm said. “Whenever there’s a meteor shower, conjunction of planets or new discovery, we’ll update our programming.”
The “Portraits in Space” featurette coincides with the museum’s current art exhibition, “The Artist Revealed: Artists Portraits & Self Portraits.” The show discusses the Hubble Space Telescope and how it takes the photos we’ve all come to know and love, he said.
“Most people think that the Hubble telescope snaps photos like a normal camera,” Lamm said. “It’s actually not like that.”
The featurette shows the telescope in action and fills the dome with some of the most beautiful images of galaxies and nebulae, he said.
“I want people to walk away from the shows with a feeling of awe and inspiration — that they not only learned something about the cosmos but something about themselves,” Lamm said. “I think, with any of our shows, people will walk away learning something about space, Earth, and their place in the world that they never knew before. I think that our seasonal sky shows and ‘Portraits In Space’ will help impart a grand understanding to the majesty of the universe and our place in it.”
LASM maintains a revolving lineup of new astronomy content. Along with “Journey to the Stars,” the museum is currently offering “Secrets of the Sun,” a four-part series of featurettes.
The museum also holds Far-Out First Friday from 7 – 9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month, Lamm said. The Astronomical World of Harry Potter is shown and details the link that J.K. Rowling made between the background of her characters and astronomy. This live show is free and offers Butterbeer and O.W.L. certificates to each participant.
General admission into the museum and planetarium is $8.50, but students can pay $7 on their first visit and receive a year-long membership.

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Anjana Nair

Journey to the Stars is a space show that is currently premiering until May 31, Tuesdays through Sundays at 2-3 p.m. at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum and Irene W. Pennington Planetarium.