Milwaukee Public Museum
Press Release

MPM Planetarium Re-opens Thursday, July 22

MPM welcomes the community back into their beloved planetarium and debuts a new show, created in-house by Museum astronomy experts

By - Jul 19th, 2021 09:10 am

MILWAUKEE — On Thursday, July 22, the Milwaukee Public Museum will re-open the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium, Wisconsin’s largest planetarium screen. Visitors to MPM can experience programs at the Planetarium every hour between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., and admission to the programs are included as part of Museum admission.

“The stars have aligned and we are excited to be able to bring visitors and families back into the Planetarium in a safe and educational way,” says MPM Planetarium Director Bob Bonadurer. “Looking up at the sky above and feeling the wonder and smallness those views create is a deeply human experience. People from cultures all around the world and throughout human history have stargazed — it connects us to each other, to the past and to the natural world around us. After so many months apart, that connection will be critically important.”

Upon its reopening, the Planetarium will debut the big-screen program Stargazers of Africa. An MPM original made completely in-house by Bonadurer and his team, Stargazers of Africa takes viewers on a journey to Africa for a journey connecting the stars, moon and planets to the people across this great continent. From the dawn of time, African people have looked to the skies above for inspiration and guidance, and this show will depict the mythology and lessons that have been reflected back to them.

Between July 22 and August 1, the schedule of Planetarium programs is as follows:

10:30 a.m.   Stargazers of Africa
11:30 a.m.    Wisconsin Stargazing
12:30 p.m.   Stargazers of Africa
1:30 p.m.     Wisconsin Stargazing
2:30 p.m.     Stargazers of Africa
3:30 p.m.     Wisconsin Stargazing
4:30 p.m.     Stargazers of Africa

Planetarium admission is included in general Museum admission and is free to MPM members. Reservations for Museum admission can be made online at www.mpm.edu or by calling 414-278-2728. Due to limited visitor capacity each hour, Planetarium admission is onsite only, on a first-come, first-served basis. Other COVID-19 procedures, such as, but not limited to, social distancing and mandatory masks, will also apply.

About the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is Wisconsin’s natural history museum, welcoming over half a million visitors annually. Located in downtown Milwaukee, the Museum was chartered in 1882, opened to the public in 1884, and currently houses more than 4 million objects in its collections. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rainforest, and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater & Planetarium. MPM is operated by Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit company, and its facilities and collections are held in trust and supported by Milwaukee County for the benefit of the public.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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