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Music, Stars and the Moon Light Up the Holidays at Chabot Space & Science Center

15 November 2002 — OAKLAND, CA: Chabot Space & Science Center in the Oakland hills is a great place to explore the skies over the holidays and into the new year. Chabot's Observatories, AskJeeves Planetarium, Tien MegaDome Theater and Galleries offer programs for space explorers of all ages, with special shows and performances, and expanded hours for the holidays. Get up close to a Moon rock, groove to "Music Under the Stars," and find your bearings in the winter night sky as the year draws to a close. Then, celebrate on New Year's Eve with the annual balloon drop as the clocks of Greenwich Mean Time strike midnight (4 pm PST). For information on these and other programs call (510) 336-7300, or visit www.chabotspace.org.

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Holiday Choirs in the Rotunda
Saturday, December 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th at 12 noon
Free with General Admission

The voices of local choirs soar in the grand acoustics of the Rotunda, as Bay Area choir groups serenade visitors entering the Science Center.

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Music Under the Stars: Frosty the Snowman with Dmitri Matheny
Thursday, December 12th at 7:30 pm — Ask Jeeves Planetarium
$12 General / $8 Chabot Members. Tickets available at (510) 336-7373.

Join us for a Family Holiday Tradition — The Dmitri Matheny WinterFest presents the story of Frosty the Snowman, with music, storytelling and images projected onto the dome of the Planetarium in Chabot's ongoing series "Music Under the Stars." This year the WinterFest visits the coolest jazzman in town, Frosty the Snowman! The most famous snowman of all time, Frosty was born in 1950 as the subject of a hit song. "There was magic in the old, silk hat" — so begins the classic story of a jolly snowman named Frosty, who just wants to have fun with his new friends before he heads to the chilly North Pole. 

Flugelhornist and composer Dmitri Matheny is celebrated for his warm romantic tone, soaring lyricism and masterful technique. The giddy anticipation that greets the Dmitri Matheny WinterFest each year is grounded in certain unshakable truths: children will squeal and run in circles, the band's apparel will be gloriously gaudy, and the storyteller will remind us all of the true meaning of Christmas. Matheny and his band — also featuring the talents of Clairdee, vocals; Leonard Thompson, piano; Ruth Davies, bass; Deszon Claiborne, drums; and Gavin Payne, storyteller — will perform music from his CD of cool holiday classics, Santa's Got a Brand New Bag: Dmitri Matheny Christmas Collection Volume I.

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New Year's Eve Balloon Drop
Tuesday, December 31st at 3:45 pm
Free with General Admission

Mark the dawn of the actual New Year 2003 at midnight Greenwich time (4 pm PST) with musical fanfare and a balloon drop from the second floor of the Rotunda. The countdown takes place to the thundering drama of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra — a score forever linked to Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Time zones begin at Greenwich, England — with 0 meridian of longitude — and proceed westward, with Oakland 8 hours "behind" the start of the true astronomical day.

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Ask Jeeves Planetarium Shows

Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?
Nov. 28–December 1, 3pm; December 23–January 5, 2:30 pm
This extraordinary adventure combines astronomy, live theater, and music by Rockepella in an exciting, interactive experience. That infamous villainess, Carmen Sandiego, has escaped from prison on Jail House Rock, developed warp drive, and gone after the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy! The audience must follow clues, answer questions and solve puzzles in order to locate Carmen's whereabouts in this exciting journey through the stars, nebulae, supernovae, black holes and more! (60 min.)

The Star
December 1–31
View stars and constellations visible during December, and explore astronomical phenomena that might have been seen as the “Star of Bethlehem.” (40 min.)

By the Light of the Sun: A Trek to the Planets
opening November 30
A sunrise on Pluto is very different from a sunrise on Mars. Follow the path of sunlight through the solar system and see how it touches and affects each planet. (40 min.)

Legends of the Night Sky
through December 22
This kid-based, cartoon-like planetarium show 'stars' Aesop, a 3000-year-old owl, who tells the story of the constellations Perseus and Andromeda, a thrilling tale of a brave hero, a beautiful maiden, and mystical creatures. (40 min.)

Destiny of the Stars
opening December 23
The lives of the stars unfold before us in the winter sky, from star birth to star death, including a final look at the fate of our own Sun. (40 min.)

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Opening November 29 in the Galleries
“Moon Mystery” Moon Rock Exhibit

Have you ever seen a 3-billion-year-old rock from another world? Now is your chance, with the arrival of a small piece of Earth's Moon at Chabot, on loan from NASA's Johnson Space Center. From 1969 through 1972, six Apollo missions returned 842 pounds of rocks from the Moon's surface, and these offer a glimpse of time early in the formation of our solar system. While Earth's geological activity and its erosive atmosphere and hydrosphere have practically erased any geologic record of the early times of our Earth-Moon system, the Moon, geologically dead and without an atmosphere, is a time capsule of information, its rocks largely unchanged for more than 3 billion years. The composition of lunar rocks has been found to be consistent with a recent theory that the Moon was formed when a Mars-sized planetary body collided with Earth over 4.5 billion years ago! 

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Weekend Spotlight: To the Moon and Back
December 7–February 23, 2003 — Weekends, Saturdays, 11am-4pm; Sundays 12:30 pm–4 pm
Free with General Admission

Is there a man in the Moon? What is the Moon made of? How much would you weigh on the Moon? How easy is it to walk on the Moon? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this series of hands-on workshops where you will make maps of the Moon, hear stories and Moon lore, and view a real Moon rock. 

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Films in the Tien MegaDome Theater

Sci-fi Film Series
Screening Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 4 pm
Lean back, relax in a cozy seat, and open your eyes wide to take in the thrills of Sci-Fi films projected onto the huge dome of the Tien MegaDome Theater. Upcoming films in this ongoing series include:

• December 6–8, Gremlins
• January 3–5, 2003, 2001: A Space Odyssey 
• January 10–12, 2003, 2010

Ongoing Films 
The Human Body — Explore the science and mystery of the world hidden inside the human body, as the incredible story of human life is revealed in astonishing detail in this giant-screen film. The Human Body is a presentation by The Learning Channel (TLC) and BBC Worldwide of a Discovery Pictures/BBC co-production made in association with the Maryland Science Center and the Science Museum, London, with major funding provided by the National Science Foundation and distributed by nWave Pictures Distribution). 

The Living Sea — Swim with jellyfish and whales, and meet strange creatures on the bottom of the sea, in this action-packed journey to the depths of the oceans. The underwater wonders of our planet are explored in this film produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films, in association with Nauticus – The National Maritime Center, the Ocean Film Network, White Oak Associates, Inc., and Dr. Robert Ballard.

Mysteries of Egypt — Experience the magic and majesty of Egypt as never before. Soar over the great pyramids of Giza, cross the deathly quiet Valley of the Kings, and descend into the shadowy chambers of the sacred tomb of King Tutankhamun. (38 min.)

To Be An Astronaut —Follow the rigors of astronaut training, the frantic countdown of missions, and the heart-stopping launch into space. Shot entirely on location at NASA. (approx. 35 min.)

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Special Holiday Hours, December 21, 2002 — January 5, 2003

*There will be evening shows on Friday and Saturday evenings in the Planetarium at 7:30 pm and MegaDome Theater at 8:30 pm. Chabot's historic telescopes will be open for free public viewing on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 pm to 10 pm, weather permitting.

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General Information

Chabot Space & Science Center is located at 10000 Skyline Blvd. in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park. Open Tuesday–Sunday (see Special Holiday Hours, above). General admission to Chabot's galleries is $8.00/$5.50 seniors and children (with an additional charge for Planetarium and Theater shows). Children under 3 are admitted free. Students with ID receive a $1.00 discount. General admission to the galleries is FREE on the first Wednesday of each month (with an additional charge for Planetarium and Theater shows). 

Tickets may be purchased at the door, or by calling (510) 336-7373. Advance tickets are available online at www.ticketweb.com or by phone at (866) 468-3399.

For more information, call (510) 336-7300, or visit www.chabotspace.org

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