Museum open today 9:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

The Sun: Our Living Star / Live Sky Tour

The Sun has shone on our world for four and a half billion years, providing the energy that drives the winds, our weather, and all life. The passage of the Sun's fiery disc across the sky – day by day, month by month – is the way civilization tracks time. As a typical dwarf star, the Sun consumes 600 million tons of hydrogen each second and is 500 times as massive as all the planets combined.

Discover the secrets of our star and experience never-before-seen images of the Sun's violent surface in an immersive format.

After the show, a live show presenter takes you on a tour of the current night sky, including tips for locating the planets, how to find constellations, and ancient myths about the stars.

Show Times

Through May 26th:

Saturdays at 3:30 p.m.

Venue

The Faulkner Planetarium, Idaho's largest domed theater, features the latest in fulldome technology, capable of virtually transporting audiences around the world and to the universe's far-flung reaches. The theater can seat 144. Open captioning for the hearing impaired is available upon request for many programs.

What's Showing Now Directions

readers choice award for best planetarium 2025 herrett center #10

Available for K-12 and Group Reservations

The sun has shone on our world for four and a half billion years, providing the energy that drives the winds, our weather, and all life. The passage of the sun's fiery disc across the sky - day by day, month by month - is how civilizations have tracked time. As a typical dwarf star, the sun consumes 600 million tons of hydrogen each second and is 500 times as massive as all the planets combined. Discover the secrets of our star and experience never-before-seen images of the sun's violent surface in an immersive format.

Book This Show

You can schedule a private showing for school field trips or private events!

Private Event School Field Trip

Educational Concepts

  • Sun's birth and age
  • Sun as source of Earth's energy
  • Solar ties to Earth's weather
  • Dependence of life on the Sun
  • Using the sun to track time
  • Heliocentric model of solar system
  • Sun's motions
  • Sun compared to other stars
  • Sun's physical structure and properties
  • Nuclear fusion
  • Remote observations of the Sun
  • Electromagnetic spectrum
  • Space weather
  • Renewable energy

Suggested Grades

4th through 12th+