TJC science center offers holiday hours, dome shows

TYLER – The holiday season has arrived at the Tyler Junior College Earth and Space Science Center featuring Hudnall Planetarium.

During the holiday break, through Dec. 30, the center will be open 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, but closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Dec. 24 -25; and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

Dome shows with a holiday or winter theme will be presented through Dec. 30, including:

• “Let it Snow” (noon) — This 30-minute show features a new variety of festive music classics visually enhanced with animation, laser imagery, special effects, and all-dome scenery.

• “Mountain Adventure: Out of Bounds” (1 p.m.) — Follow Olympian Torah Bright as she journeys through the world’s longest chain of mountain ranges extending from Antarctica all the way to Alaska. Along the way, Torah will ride with backcountry legend Jeremy Jones and free-skiing superstar Sammy Carlson. Together, they will encounter penguins, polar bears and other wildlife, and meet with scientists and environmentalists to uncover a deeper understanding of our mountain ecosystems.

• “Mystery of the Christmas Star” (2 p.m.) — Journey back more than 2000 years to Bethlehem for scientific explanation for the star the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus.

• “Extreme Auroras” (3 p.m.) — Created by award-winning photographer Ole Salomonsen, “Extreme Auroras” is a visual feast. Join Salomonsen as he travels through northern Norway, Finland and Sweden in pursuit of his passion to film nature’s wildest and most spectacular light show: the aurora borealis, or northern lights. Filmed with fisheye lenses that capture the whole sky and then projected in the full-dome theater, you will feel as if you are immersed in the arctic wilderness, witnessing this awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.

• “Season of Light” (4 p.m.) — This show recounts the historical religious and cultural rituals practiced during the time of winter solstice – not only Christian and Jewish, but also Celtic, Nordic, Roman, Irish, Mexican and Hopi. It also looks at a few of the more light-hearted seasonal traditions: from gift giving and kissing under the mistletoe to the custom of decking the halls with greenery and candles. Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus all drop by as well.

Admission is $7 adults, $5 for children and seniors (ages 65 and over).

Day passes are also available, so visitors can see multiple shows in a single day for one price: $12 for adults and $9 for children and seniors.

The science center is located at 1411 E. Lake St., on the TJC main campus. Parking is free.

To purchase advance tickets, go to sciencecenter.tjc.edu.