Group Field Trips

NOTE: This information is for groups outside the Glastonbury Public School system.

Glastonbury teachers and schools: Please use the internal booking form [found here] to schedule your planetarium visit...thank you!

Field Trips & Planetarium Programs

Step into the cosmos at the Glastonbury Planetarium—where science comes to life and imaginations take flight. We proudly welcome public, private, and homeschool groups from across Connecticut to experience programs that awaken curiosity and spark wonder.

Designed for learners of all ages, our immersive presentations explore the frontiers of astronomy, earth science, engineering, and beyond. Under our dome, audiences are transported through space and time with breathtaking full-dome visuals and live, interactive lessons led by expert educators.

Each program is enriched with the latest scientific discoveries and cutting-edge insights—connecting students not only to the universe above, but to the ever-evolving world around them.

Please note: Due to the dark environment of the dome, programs are recommended for children ages 6 and up.

Program Detail

Capacity: Up to 90 guests per program
Length: Most programs run 60–90 minutes
Cost: $150 per program (cost is based on the program not on attendance)
Availability: Field trips are offered September through June, Monday–Friday, between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM
- Summer programs (July–August) are limited and scheduled based on staff availability
Please note: We do not offer lunch or eating facilities on site.

How to Book

Review the program options (Space Science Series) below.
Submit a reservation request using the [Field Trip Reservation Form for the 2025–2026 School Year].
For questions, email jarcher@crec.org.
Please do not call the GEHMS Office regarding planetarium programs.
Our Planetarium Coordinator will follow up to confirm your date, time, and selected program.
Confirmation of your visit will include an Invoice, a Community Use form and Field Trip Guide. Please sign and return the Invoice and Community Use prior to your visit.
We recommend booking at least one month in advance.

Payment Information

Cost: $150 per program
Accepted Payments: Check (payable to Glastonbury Public Schools – Planetarium) or cash only.
Credit cards are not accepted.
Payment is due upon receipt of your invoice.
Please notify us as soon as possible if there are any changes to your reservation.
We will do our best to accommodate based on availability.

Space Science Series

Our Neighbor The Moon

Grades 1 - 2

What astronomer-in-training hasn't looked up at the Moon in wonder? In this interactive planetarium program, children will observe the features on the Moon surface such as craters and even gaze at the far side of the Moon. Back on Earth, children will trace the path of the Moon and Sun in the sky. Finally, we'll explore the many "faces" of the Moon and look at the Moon's changing appearance night after night and even month after month. This is program is a perfect introduction to the Earth, Sun and Moon system.

Cosmic Adventure

Grades 1 - 2

Take a roller coaster ride from the Moon, through the Solar System, out into the rest of the galaxy, and back. Visit some of the most amazing sites in the universe! This is nice introduction to our place in the universe and the amazing objects found within it including nebula, galaxies, planets, constellations, stars, comets and more.

The Amazing Telescope

Grades 3 - 8

Telescopes have advanced considerably since Galileo’s time. Humanity now has large observatories and even many in space. Learn how telescopes work; and how astronomers use them to scrutinize the structures within our cosmos. Look deep into the night sky to reveal the amazing sights, stars, planets, nebula, and galaxies and more that a telescope and binoculars can show. This program features the show Two Small Pieces of Glass.

Our Habitat Earth

Grades 3 - 4 and up

Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and more extreme weather. A better understand of our global connection to each other and the Earth will help us learn more about what we can do to ensure that our cohabitation with the natural world leaves a healthy, sustainable planet for generations to come. This program features the planetarium shows Habitat Earth and Dynamic Earth plus live lecture on Earth's place in the universe.

The Changing Earth

Grades 4 - 5 and up

The Earth's surface is continually changing. In this program, we'll look at the formation of and how the Earth is in continual change. The Earth isn't the only celestial body with dynamic processes, we'll take a live-interactive look at the geologic processes found on some of the other moons and planets in the Solar System. Featured are the planetarium shows Birth of the Planet Earth and SuperVolcanoes.

Patterns in the Sky

Grade 5 and up

Cycles and patterns are found most everywhere in the universe. This program focuses on the causes of day and night, the causes of the seasons and the changes (phases) in the Moon’s appearance. First, using the planetarium as a laboratory, participants will observe and predict the cycles of day and night, the Moon's daily and annual motion in the sky, and the Sun's motion through the year. Second, we'll put it all together with a viewing of the planetarium show Earth, Sun and Moon!

The Planets Show

Grades 6 and up

Audiences are transported on a startling and beautiful voyage through our universe, galaxy and solar system in search of liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth. Using some the latest planetary science and imagery, we’ll travel to the depths of our Solar System to learn about each member of our family of planets from tragic Mars to lonely Neptune. This program features the show Oasis in Space and an ever-changing lecture on the latest planetary discoveries.

Stories in the Stars

Grade 6 and up

For thousands of years, humans have looked to the sky and found familiar shapes in the stars that they used to tell stories about their own cultures and beliefs. First, we'll look at the familiar Greek star patterns that we have come to know so well. Then we'll take a deep look at Orion and how is seen by different cultures or Indigenous societies from around the globe. This program features the shows A Starry Tale and One Sky. Included is a live tour of the current night sky, identifying the stars, planets and deep sky objects overhead.

Fly Me to the Moon

Grade 6 and up

The Moon is our nearest neighbor in space and is vital to our existence. Step back in time to the 1960's in a recreation of the Apollo missions that lead to the first manned lunar landing, of Apollo 11, on July 20, 1969. Then step into the future to learn about NASA’s 21st century Artemis program, our next steps to the Moon. This program features the shows Moon Shadows: Race to the Moon, Forward to the Moon and a live lecture on the Moon.

The Sun

Grade 6 and up

The Sun has shone on our world for four and a half billion years. It is our nearest star and our planet’s powerhouse, the source of the energy that drives our winds, our weather and all life. Explore the Sun's inner workings , its tangle of magnetic fields and superhot plasma that vent the Sun’s rage in dramatic flares, violent solar tornadoes, and the largest eruptions in the Solar System: coronal mass ejections. The program features the shows The Sun: Our Living Star and Solar Superstorms plus a lecture on stellar evolution.

Black Holes

Grade 8 and up

Black holes are among the most mysterious cosmic objects in the universe. It's a place from which nothing escapes, not even light, where time and space literally come to end. In this program, audiences will experience one of the most exciting applications of astronomy, mathematics, and physics in an immersive experience like no other. Featuring the shows Black Holes - The Other Side of Infinity and Supermassive Black Holes - Uncovering the Invisible with a lecture on black hole essentials, what is and isn't a black hole and how we find them, and more.

The Search for Life

Grade 8 and up

Planets are not unique to our solar system. Since the discovery of the first planet orbiting another star in 1995 we have found thousands of exoplanets. We’ll explore the variety of exoplanets found so far and the techniques used to find them. Is there life on other planets? Come find out. This program features the shows Out There: The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds and Faster Than Light: The Dream of Interstellar Flight and the latest information on our search for Earth like planets.

The Grand Tour

Grades 8 and up

Blast off from Earth to the farthest reaches of the universe. We’ll explore Earth’s location in the Milky Way, travel to other galaxies and look at the large scale structure of the universe. Galaxies, galaxy groups and clusters, superclusters, and galactic walls and their twisting, threadlike structures called the cosmic web are explored. This program features the show From Earth to the Universe and a live stunning look a the large scale structure of our universe. Be prepared to be humbled and awed.

Dynamic Earth

Grades 8 and up

Witness the awesome power and the unimaginable destruction of explosive volcanoes, ground-buckling earthquakes, and deadly tornadoes as you head into the field with scientists who risk their lives exploring the origins and behaviors of these fearsome natural disasters. Go to the front lines of the most dynamic and complex forces shaping our planet. Hear the roar of huge glacial ice walls calving into the sea causing tsunami-like waves, experience the awesome destructive force of tornadoes, and stand so close to wildfires that you feel the heat, as we uncover surprising connections to help us understand and adapt to our ever-changing weather. This program features the large screen films Extreme Weather and Forces of Nature.

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