Big Bird and Elmo come to Ritter Planetarium

Although Big Bird usually stays grounded on Sesame Street, students may be able to see him flying through Ritter Planetarium.

Ritter showcased several renovations with a children's program called "One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure" to a packed house Saturday.

Audiences got the chance to lounge in new seats inside the full dome of the planetarium which recently underwent a $500,000 renovation, including a new Spitz SciDome XD projector.

The new projector cost approximately $350,000, according to Alex Mak, associate director of the Ritter Planetarium. He said the remaining cost went to installing new seats and carpets.

The cost of the renovation and new projector was funded by UT President Lloyd Jacobs.

The projector is one of two used in the entire world. Using 6.5 million pixels, the projector gives the audience a 360 degree view around the entire 40-foot hemisphere of the dome, making them part of the program.

Mak said the addition allows for more educational opportunities since anything found on the internet is able to be projected onto the big screen.

 "Big Bird's Adventure" teaches the basics of astronomy and Earth. It explains how the characters of "Sesame Street" start to realize that the same sky they see every night is the exact same sky as the one in China.

Elmo, Big Bird and Hu Hu Zhu, their friend from China, use analogies such as the Big and Little Dippers looking like dipping spoons into a pot of soup to simplify the subject. Throughout the program, the characters teach audiences the main constellations in the sky, as well as finding particular stars and planets in our solar system.

The show also gives facts at the beginning of the program to engage the audience. Mak came out and introduced the program, asked questions regarding it, and gave fun facts about the renovation and projector. The program was well received, and the children and their families were excited to answer questions and follow along with Mak and the characters of the program.

The Ritter Planetarium will be running programs for the UT community. "Big Bird's Adventure" will play again this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The next show, "IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System," will be Friday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m.

This particular program is also produced by the Adler Planetarium. It follows the creation of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer. Scientists are using this to investigate the boundaries of space.

"IBEX is a program about the area between where our solar system ends and interstellar space begins," Mak said.

Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children 4 through 12, seniors and UT students and employees. For more information, call Ritter Planetarium at (419)530-2650 or its 24-hour information hotline at (419)530-4037.