Space Fest: Sunday

Join us for day two of Space Fest: Cleared for Launch, our kickoff a yearlong celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing! Free with museum admission, regular planetarium ticket fees apply.

Hands-on activities

Learn about solar wind and auroras, get up close with micrometeorites from around the world, help create a cloud in real time, and test your engineering skills in our Astronaut Challenge room. These and more activities will be here all weekend, including:

• Apollo Moon landing trivia
• NASA spaceflight artifacts
• Lunar eclipse demos
• Outdoor solar observation

Planetarium Shows

Space Fest fun extends inside the Whitney & Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium, too. Don’t miss your chance to see two special shows, only on view during Space Fest.

Catch an extended version of our popular live program Minnesota Night Sky or find out what it takes to become an ASTRONAUT. Shows every 45 minutes! Click here to buy your tickets today!

ASTRONAUT takes you from Earth into space… and beyond. Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Recommended for ages 9 and up.

Minnesota Night Sky is a live tour of the night sky, showcasing the planets, stars, and seasonal constellations currently visible from Minnesota. Recommended for all ages.

Special guests

Explore your universe with the Minnesota Space Grant Consortium, Society of Women Engineers, Starbird Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Adamala Engelhart Lab/College of Biological Sciences

Science Talks

11:30am — Hunting the Aurora Borealis in Minnesota
Explore what causes the Aurora, how to know when a display is imminent, best predictive apps, websites and other resources. Photographer and physicist Dr. Mike Shaw will also share recommendations for places to observe the Aurora Borealis.

1:00pm — Mars & Microbes
Dr. Trinity Hamilton studies microorganisms living on the fringes of our planet in the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences. Join us to explore her research.

2:30pm — The Next Giant Leap
As we celebrate 50 years since man first walked on the Moon, Ron Schmit, NASA Solar System Ambassador and observatory coordinator at Jackson Middle School in Champlin, Minnesota, will take a look at what’s taking us so long to get back to the Moon.

Meet the Scientists

Dee McLellan, NASA Solar System Ambassador
Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm
Join Dee to create a balloon-driven rocket that will attempt to deploy a payload into a specific landing area. our experimentation and testing will help us understand some of the challenges of landing on Mars.

Starbird Association
Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm
Can you guess which everyday items were developed by NASA? Come and see how you fare, and check out some other fun 3D visuals.

Minnesota Space Grant Consortium
Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm
Stop by for a look at an exhibit of space-related hardware from stratospheric balloon payloads to high-power rockets that the Minnesota Space Grant Consortium builds and flies with university students.

UMN Adamala Engelhart Lab
Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm
Traditionally, biologists study the fundamental inner workings of life on earth. Our lab builds upon the advances in cell biology, chemistry, and biophysics to create bio-engineering tools.

Star Party: Eclipse Edition

8:30 pm – Midnight, Free with registration

Come back to join the Bell Museum astronomy crew for a late night Star Party for the total lunar eclipse. Click here to learn more and register!

Weather Note: If cloudy or otherwise poor weather, we will host indoor activities from 8:30 – 10:00pm.