There's only one thing that can get me more excited than a weekend marathon of How I Met Your Mother: a weekend of STARS. Yes kids, I finally made it out to the Glendale Planetarium.
The Glendale Planetarium is, quite possibly, more awesome than this. Sure, there are other planetariums around town: UCLA has one (#32), and there's also a rockin one at the Griffith Observatory (#61). But there's something uniquely delightful about Glendale Community College's planetarium. Perhaps it's their remote controlled reclinable chairs.
outside the entrance to the planetarium. go up the stairs.
The 45 minute presentation was largely audience driven. The presenters asked questions like "What's your favorite planet?" and zoomed in on various planets that the audience shouted out. Brad, closet Trekkie, loved how one of the presenters kept weaving in Star Trek references. He actually managed to stay awake for 2/3 of the show (Planetariums always make him fall asleep. He's never made it through an entire one! Something about dark rooms...).
My favorite part of the evening was when they showed us the edges of the universe as we know it. They started on earth and kept zooming out to show our solar system, galaxy, and other galaxies around us, until there was just a black void. There's something so amazing about being made to feel so small and insignificant.
On your way to the bathroom, you'll see this giant rock
Afterwards, they took us outside and showed us some stars and planets. Did you know that stars are either blue, yellow or red? The blue ones are the hottest. When we were outside, the presenter pointed out the different hues of the stars. We also saw Orion's belt.
The details: The show is $10 cash, pay at the door. Parking is free. Arrive early since there is no late admittance. The audience ranged from little kids to seniors.
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