Upcoming Events

The text "Legends of the Starry Realm" over a cartoon depicition of various constellations
Featured: Legends of the Starry Realm

In the Faulkner Planetarium:

Ride through the clouds to the rescue of the beautiful Princess Andromeda. Stalk the evil Minotaur in the bewildering twists and turns of King Minos’ terrifying Labyrinth. Travel with Orpheus and his magical harp through the heat and sulfurous fumes of Hades in search of his beloved Euridice. Sail in an ancient ship beneath a sky filled with legends that have transcended time.

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 to find constellations, and ancient myths about the stars.

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Two men talking over a a snake enclosure
Reptile Revue

1st & 3rd Tuesdays | 6 PM – 7 PM | FREE

Get up close and personal with some of the coolest cold-blooded residents of the Herrett Center! Reptile Revue happens twice a month and gives you the chance to meet our fascinating reptiles, learn fun facts, and even interact with them in a safe and educational setting.

Upcoming Reptile Revue Events:

July 21st

August 4th and August 18th

Image of the sun
Summer Solar Session

📅 Wednesday, July 22nd | ⏰ 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Free Admission

Experience the power of the cosmos—right in the daytime sky!

Safely observe the Sun through specially filtered telescopes and witness real sunspots along with the dynamic details of the solar atmosphere. Then look beyond our star to spot:

  • Gibbous (60% illuminated) Venus
  • Bright stars visible in our 24" telescope

Weather permitting. Clear skies are required for viewing.

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Image of a telescope pointed at Pluto
Peak Pluto in 2026

📅 Friday, July 24th | ⏰ 1:45 - 2:15 a.m. | Free Admission

Don’t miss a truly rare celestial opportunity to see Pluto at its brightest and closest for the year!

Through our telescopes, you’ll be able to glimpse this distant dwarf planet, currently 3,211,620,000 miles (5.17 billion km) away, at a proximity it won’t reach again until January 2202. Despite its incredible distance, Pluto will appear as a tiny but brilliant point of light, offering a unique perspective on the outer reaches of our solar system.

Weather permitting. Clear skies are required for viewing.

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Image of a telescope looking at Mars
Monthly Free Star Party

📅 Friday, August 8th | ⏰ 9:45 - 11:45 p.m. | Free Admission

Join us in the Centennial Observatory for our Monthly Free Star Party and your chance to see:

  • Double/multiple stars
  • Deep-sky targets (after 10:42 PM)
  • A moonless sky

Weather permitting. Clear skies are required for viewing.

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Image of a red moon
Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse
Join us for a special evening at the observatory to watch a partial lunar eclipse as Earth’s shadow gradually moves across the Moon. The event begins with the Moon already showing subtle dimming from Earth’s outer shadow, followed by the dramatic appearance of the darker central shadow creating a visible “bite” out of the lunar surface. At maximum eclipse, only a thin bright sliver of the Moon remains illuminated before the shadow slowly recedes. The observatory will remain open until midnight as the eclipse winds down and the Moon gradually returns to its usual brightness.

Eclipse Timeline
  • 8:12 PM – Moon rises with faint shading from Earth’s penumbral shadow already visible.
  • 8:34 PM – Partial eclipse begins as Earth’s darker umbral shadow creates a small “bite” on the Moon’s lower left edge.
  • 10:13 PM – Maximum eclipse: only a thin bright sliver of the Moon’s upper edge remains illuminated.
  • 11:52 PM – Partial phase ends as the last shadow slips off the Moon’s lower right edge.
  • 12:00 AM – Observatory closes; faint penumbral shading still visible.
  • 1:02 AM – Official end of the penumbral eclipse as the Moon returns to its normal brightness.


Visitors are welcome to stop by anytime during the event to watch the eclipse progress through telescopes and with the naked eye.

Weather permitting. Clear skies are required for viewing.

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Field Trips and Group Tours

Field trips and educational group events are welcome! Choose from our tour options or request a custom theme when you book a field trip.

 

Accessibility

The Herrett Center for Arts & Science is committed to making our collections, building, programing, and services accessible to all audiences.

Open Caption is available for most Faulkner Planetarium Shows. To request this service, please let the cashier at the front desk know when purchasing tickets.

The Centennial Observatory features one of the world’s largest fully wheelchair-accessible public telescopes. An elevator takes visitors up to the observatory space, once there, a wheelchair elevator is available to take visitors with limited mobility to the observatory deck. The ARE-125, an optical “periscope” designed by DFM, allows unprecedented access to the telescope for wheelchair-bound or limited-mobility visitors.

For questions concerning accessibility prior to your visit, please call the Herrett Center front desk at 208-732-6655.

Inside Map of the Herrett Center

floorplan map