Filtering by: Past Event 3
![Community Stargazing and Open House]()
Date: Tuesday, September 6
Time: 7:30PM - 9:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot & McAuliffe Center
Use telescopes to observe the Full Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Albireo (double star), Mizar (star), and Epsilon Lyrae (multiple star system) while McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe. To celebrate FSU’s Black and Gold Beginnings, we will also offer a planetarium film and tours of the Challenger Learning Center!
![Community Stargazing and Open House]()
Date: Friday, September 2
Time: 7:30PM - 9:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot & McAuliffe Center
Use telescopes to observe the Crescent Moon, Saturn, Albireo (double star), Mizar (star), and Epsilon Lyrae (multiple star system) while McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe. To celebrate FSU’s Black and Gold Beginnings, we will also offer a planetarium film and tours of the Challenger Learning Center!
Date: Friday, July 29
Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Christa McAuliffe Center, FSU Planetarium, and O’Connor Lot
Celebrate the release of Webb’s spectactular first full-color images and spectroscopic data! Join us for an open house with free-choice learning activities as an official NASA Webb Community Events host! This event is free, appropriate for all ages, and is in collaboration with Framingham Public Library.
Date: Friday, June 3, 2022
Time: 7:30PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 12+
Location: FSU Planetarium and McAuliffe Center
Do Earth-like planets exist elsewhere in the universe? Travel to distant stars and fly up close to exotic planets. Experience the science shifting our perspective on humanity’s place in the cosmos. The full-dome planetarium film will be followed by a McAuliffe Center open house to explore our exhibits and learn about observing with telescopes!
Date: Saturday, April 30, 2022
Time: 12:00PM - 3:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: McAuliffe Center and FSU Campus
Official Festival Webpage
Science on State Street is our annual free science festival for families, in collaboration with MetroWest STEM Education Network (MSEN). Explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with fun, high-quality interactive activities, demonstrations, planetarium programs, and discussions that stimulate further learning about these topics!
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2022
Time: 1:00PM - 4:30PM
Age Recommendation: Grades 6-8
Location: McAuliffe Center
A one-day program for individual participants to engage in a space mission simulation in the Challenger Learning Center, watch a full-dome film in the FSU Planetarium, and do hands-on science activities related to Earth Day!
![Community Stargazing]()
Date: Tuesday, April 12
Time: 7:30PM - 9:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot by Maynard Road
Use telescopes to observe the Moon, Pleiades, Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and Beehive Cluster while McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe.
Date: Saturday, April 2 and 9
Time: 11:00AM - 2:00PM
Audience: FSU Accepted Students
Location: McAuliffe Center and FSU Planetarium
Welcome accepted students! During your visit to Framingham State University, stop by the Christa McAuliffe Center’s open house to explore our exhibits and see one of two showings of the full-dome planetarium show, Oasis in Space, at 11:30am and 1:00pm!
Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Time: 1:30PM - 5:30PM
Audience: FSU Community
Location: McAuliffe Center
As part of Framingham State University’s participation in the Worldwide Climate Teach-In on March 30, we will be showing the full-dome film Habitat Earth in the planetarium and holding information sessions about our paid summer internship for college students!
Date: Friday, March 18, 2022
Time: 6:30PM
Audience: Families, All Ages
Location: FSU Planetarium
Explore world-class observatories, learn why Chile is an ideal environment for astronomy, and meet some of the diverse people who make discoveries possible! The full-dome film will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with Dr. Irene Porro and Savio Oliveira about their career paths and areas of expertise.
![Community Stargazing]()
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot by Maynard Road
Use telescopes to observe the Moon and other astronomical objects while McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe.
Stargazing will be held on Tuesday, March 8!
Due to the Winter Storm Warning, this event is now virtual only.
Date: Friday, February 25, 2022
Time: 7:00PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 12+
Location: Zoom
NASA’s TESS mission is looking for planets around the brightest and closest stars in our neighborhood. MIT researchers working with TESS will share some of the interesting exoplanet systems they have found and what they hope to find in the future!
We look forward to offering this program again during future school vacations!
Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022
Time: 2:00PM - 5:30PM
Age Recommendation: Grades 6-8
Location: McAuliffe Center
A one-day program for individual participants to engage in a space mission simulation in the Challenger Learning Center, watch a full-dome film in the FSU Planetarium, and do hands-on science activities related to the James Webb Space Telescope mission!
We look forward to offering this program again during future school vacations!
Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022
Time: 1:00PM - 4:30PM
Age Recommendation: Grades 6-8
Location: McAuliffe Center
A one-day program for individual participants to engage in a space mission simulation in the Challenger Learning Center, watch a full-dome film in the FSU Planetarium, and do hands-on science activities related to the James Webb Space Telescope mission!
![Community Stargazing and Webb Update]()
Cancelled - Stay Tuned for Our Next Stargazing Event!
Age Recommendation: All Ages
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot by Maynard Road
Observe the Moon and Jupiter while McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe. Get updated on James Webb Space Telescope’s journey through space following its successful launch and deployment!
Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Time: 3:30PM - 5:00PM
Age Recommendation: Grades 4-7
Location: McAuliffe Branch Library
Complete physical challenges with fellow Mission Controllers to develop your communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Put your skills to the test during a mission simulation to establish a habitat for astronauts to live and work on the Moon!
![Ready for Launch: The James Webb Space Telescope]()
Date: Saturday, December 25
Time: 7:20 AM
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the largest astrophysics mission in NASA's history, currently expected to launch on Saturday, December 25.
![Holiday Program]()
Full-Dome Planetarium Film, Hands-On Activities, and Stargazing!
Dates: Friday, December 17, 2021 AND Saturday, December 18, 2021
Time: 4:00PM - 7:00PM
In-Person at the McAuliffe Center
Join the McAuliffe Center for an evening filled with fun STEAM activities. Watch the full-dome film, Big Astronomy; do James Webb Space Telescope crafts and activities; observe our night sky with telescopes; and take your holiday photos with our life-size replica of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit!
Date: Monday, December 13, 2021
Time: 5:00PM - 7:00PM
Location: Outside in O’Connor Lot by Maynard Road
Members of the Framingham State community are invited to join us for stargazing! Use telescopes to see the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn like you’ve never seen them before!
Cloud Date: Tuesday, December 14 from 5:00PM - 7:00PM
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
Time: 4:30PM
Guest Speaker: Brian Coyle
Recording
From science, to finance, to education, there are innumerable ways to make positive impacts for the environment and have an enriching career that helps save nature and people. Join us for a dynamic conversation with Brian Coyle, Co-director, Earth Optimism Youth Sustainability Leadership and contributor to programs spanning conservation, sustainability, environmental health and youth leadership training.
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Time: 5:30PM
Guest Speaker: Cleary Vaughan-Lee
Recording
In this session with Cleary Vaughan-Lee, executive director of the Global Oneness Project, discover tools which challenge students to consider changing ecosystems around the world. Multimedia stories will be shared which explore ecological understandings from various perspectives.
Date: Monday, October 18, 2021
Time: 1:00PM
Guest Speakers: From Alira Health, Definitive Healthcare, MathWorks, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and Sanofi
Recording
We often hear references to “careers in the life sciences” without much context about what this actually entails. In this round table, we will hear from professionals with diverse expertise that include Data Science, Data Analytics, and Bioinformatics in Life Sciences. The goal of this conversation is to introduce some of the key roles in the life science industry, the skills employers are looking for, and the opportunities for students with diverse interests to contribute to this industry.
![Public Planetarium Show: Birth of Planet Earth]()
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Times: 5:30PM AND 6:30PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Birth of Planet Earth tells the twisted tale of our planet’s origins.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Recording
We are excited to confirm Massachusetts STEM Week 2021 will be October 18-22. If you are a school or afterschool program looking for STEM Week programming, join us for this virtual information session to learn about state-sponsored Design Challenges and opportunities from MetroWest organizations/institutions!
![Planetarium Movie Day: Birth of Planet Earth]()
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2021
Time: 6:00PM - 6:40PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system’s violent birth? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2021
Time: 5:00PM - 5:50PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Ever wonder what it would be like to fly to Mars? NASA – and others – have their sights set on the Red Planet and they’re building the technology to get us there! Destination Mars: The New Frontier gives you an up-close look at humanity’s most epic endeavor.
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2021
Time: 4:00PM - 4:40PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Presented with captions.
Plunge below the ocean’s surface to explore the dynamic relationships found in deep ocean ecosystems; dig beneath the forest floor to see how Earth’s tallest trees rely on tiny fungi to survive; and soar to new heights to witness the intricate intersection between human and ecological networks.
![Planetarium Movie Day: Birth of Planet Earth]()
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Time: 4:00PM - 4:40PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system’s violent birth? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Time: 3:00PM - 3:40PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 7+
Cost: $5 per person
Water: our most precious resource. Without it, life could not exist on our planet. Is the reverse also true? If we search for water, will we also find life? Join us as we explore our solar system and discover what makes our world stand out among the Sun’s family of planets.
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Time: 2:00PM - 2:50PM
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Cost: $5 per person
Presented with captions.
Ever wonder what it would be like to fly to Mars? NASA – and others – have their sights set on the Red Planet and they’re building the technology to get us there! Destination Mars: The New Frontier gives you an up-close look at humanity’s most epic endeavor.
