December 6th, 2012 — Astronomy, Family Science, Grand Opening
- January 19, 2013
- 11 AM – 4:30 PM
- FREE
Join us for a fun filled day to celebrate the Science Dome’s Grand Opening! See a show in the brand new dome, participate in hands-on exploration stations and watch live science demonstrations. This event is FREE and open to all ages!
Schedule for the day:
11-11:30 am – Ribbon cutting ceremony
11:30-4:30 pm – Hands on Exploration stations
11:30-4:30 pm – Science Dome shows (Reserve seats now!):
12:50 pm AND 3:00 pm – Chemistry Demo show
November 30th, 2012 — Educators
Calling all educators!
- Wednesday December 12th 2012
- 4 – 6 PM
The Science Dome was built to be a community resource and we would love to partner with educators of all levels in the area. We invite you to stop by, see a demo of the Science Dome’s capabilities, learn what we have to offer and let us know what would be useful for your students.
Don’t let the name fool you. The Science Dome can be used for much more than science! Use the dome for: Architecture, Art, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Digital Design, Drama, Earth Science, Geography, Math, Music Recitals, Storytelling and much more!
If you can’t make it to the open house but are interested in what the science dome has to offer drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.
November 26th, 2012 — Astronomy, Construction, Family Science
It’s here folks!
The Pierce College Science Dome is complete… and it is amazing.
A huge 38-foot dome with programmable cove lights…
58 amazingly comfortable seats…
and breathtaking images. Who could ask for anything more?
Oh yeah, a sound system that will knock your socks off, full dome videos, high resolution planetary surfaces, science on a sphere and a whole lot more.
Stay tuned.
Educator Open House December 12th 4-6 pm
Grand opening January 19th, 2013 11 am-4:30 pm
July 10th, 2012 — Construction
The crew arrived to install the domed ceiling last week and are quickly making progress! The frame and some of the panels are already up.
The domed ceiling will act as a giant screen for the Science Dome where anything from the night sky to a DNA helix will be projected. Although the dome might seem like it takes center stage it will actually fade away for visitors providing a naturally immersive 3D experience. The dome is 38 feet across and tilted at a 10 degree angle, dropping down near the front to provide a realistic virtual environment.
June 7th, 2012 — Astronomy, Family Science, Venus Transit
Thanks to everyone who made it out to see the Venus Transit! There were well over 1000 people – luckily spread out over the 6 hours- who stopped by to catch this rare event! We had a patch of beautiful blue skies the whole transit with just intermittent clouds.
If you were lucky enough to be there right at the beginning of the transit we were able to see the famous ring around Venus from light refracting through Venus’ atmosphere. Several groups of sunspots were also visible on the sun surface.
Sunspots and Venus, photo by Ralph Morasch
Using the solar scope to view the transit, photo by Ralph Morasch
Thanks to some great astronomy students for making solar filters, solar funnels and telescope projectors, there were lots of great ways to see the transit! Tacoma Astronomical Society members also dropped by with some bigger telescopes and H-alpha filters.
Venus and the sun projected with a solar funnel, photo by Dennis Brew
photo by Suzzanne Freeborn
May 18th, 2012 — Astronomy, Family Science, Venus Transit
Come and experience the 2012 Venus Transit at Pierce College! This rare astronomical event won’t happen again for 105 years so it is your last chance to see it. Venus will pass directly between us and the sun and create a mini-eclipse. Astronomy students will be outside the Rainier building with telescopes and projection equipment so that you can safely view the event from 3-9pm and there will be public lectures on the historical and astronomical significance at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm in Rainier 361.
Bring the family! Learn about how to view the sun safely and let the kids make pin hole cameras.
Rain or Shine! We won’t let the weather get in the way. If it is cloudy you’ll still be able to see the transit via a live video stream inside.
All events will be outside or inside the Rainier building. Everything is completely FREE!
Here's a picture from the last Venus transit in 2004. (c) Mr. Eclipse
March 26th, 2012 — Construction
Construction on the Pierce College Science Dome has finally started! Construction should be done and equipment installed by the end of the summer. Look out Lakewood here it comes!
