National Geographic's Wildest Weather in the Solar System Debuts at The Children's Museum

Opening on November 25 at The Children’s Museum, National Geographic’s Wildest Weather of the Solar System takes audiences on a spectacular journey through the stars to witness beautiful, powerful and mysterious weather phenomena taking place on our neighboring planets in the solar system. The full dome digital film will open in the Travelers Science Dome Planetarium on November 25 with showings at 11:30am and 2:30pm, and on Saturday and Sunday November 26 & 27 at 12:30pm and 2:30pm. Tickets to this exclusive are engagement are $4 for members of The Children’s Museum and Roaring Brook Nature Center; $5 per person for reciprocal members and other visitors. Another planetarium presentation is still included with General Admission. Additional showtime information is available at www.thechildrensmuseumct.org.

“Weather on Earth can vary wildly as one circles the globe,” said Bob Griesmer, President and CEO of The Children’s Museum, in describing the show. “Temperatures in Antarctica can go as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit, while those in northern Africa have been observed as high as 140 degrees. Cities in India can receive as much as eight feet of rainfall each year, while a desert in South America hasn’t had a drop in hundreds of years. But when compared to the other planets circling the sun, weather on Earth is relatively mild,” he continued.

Griesmer is excited about this first partnership with National Geographic for The Children’s Museum. “The National Geographic brand stands for quality educational programming. We are delighted to be associated with this high standard and to bring it to our visitors,” he added.

In Wildest Weather in the Solar System audiences will experience these weather extremes through jaw-dropping visuals and state-of-the-art CGI while traveling alongside a fictitious planetary spacecraft. Their journey begins at the sun, where the surface is nearly 6 times hotter than Earth’s, and whose solar flares can release high energy particles at a million miles an hour. Contrasts mark the first two planets: Mercury, which has no atmosphere and temperatures can vary as much as a thousand degrees between night and day; and Venus, where a thick, dense atmosphere that traps the sun’s heat make it even hotter than the planet closer to the sun. Moving past Earth, audiences will be whirled about by five-mile high dust devils on Mars; drop inside the 400-year-old raging storm on Jupiter; and flinch from giant electrical storms in Saturn’s “Storm Alley,” where lightning strikes are 10,000 times stronger than those on Earth.

The second to last planet, Uranus, has the most extreme seasons of any planet in the solar system because of a tilt that leaves half the planet exposed to either sun or darkness for more than 40 years during its 84-year orbit around the sun. By the time they reach the final planet, beautiful blue gas giant Neptune where winds reach twice the speed of sound, audiences will be very happy they live on Earth.

Please visit our website for the detailed listing schedule at www.thechildrensmuseumct.org. Please note that the Museum and Planetarium are closed on Mondays except during local school vacations.

The Children’s Museum offers over 100 live animals, hands-on science exhibits, out-of-this-world digital planetarium shows, and programs for younger children and families. It is one of Connecticut’s most visited attractions. The Children’s Museum is located at 950 Trout Brook Drive in West Hartford and at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton. More information is available at www.TheChildrensMuseumCT.org.

Find out more about “Wildest Weather in the Solar System” and play the game at www.wildestweathershow.com.

National Geographic Society

Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Its mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. Building on its global reputation for remarkable visuals and compelling stories, National Geographic Cinema Ventures produces and distributes 2D and 3D productions to a worldwide audience.

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