By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History will celebrate its 10th anniversary with face painting, astronauts, and a new show about the Big Bang narrated by Liam Neeson that is projected not onto the ceiling, but down into a concavity beneath viewers.
The Rose Center for Earth and Space will celebrate its 10 years on earth as a space science center, appropriately, on 10.10.10.
The new show in the lower half of the Hayden Sphere features Liam Neeson's describing astronomical observations and simulations reflecting up-to-the-moment understanding of how the universe came into existence.
"We took this 10th anniversary as an occasion to sweep through our exhibitry to make sure that whatever was relevant 10 years ago is still relevant, update exhibits with new developments, and introduce elements of new scientific frontiers that 10 years ago were undreamt of," said the planetarium's director, Neil deGrasse Tyson.
The celebration next Sunday will include a question and answer session with the museum's scientists and NASA astronaut Michael Massimino, who was the first person ever to tweet from space.
Family-oriented activities include face painting, a performance by an astronomy-themed acapella group, and Native American sky story telling.
The celebration will conclude with a debate hosted by deGrasse Tyson entitled, "Is Earth Unique?"
The upper portion of the Hayden Sphere projects 3D satellite images of the Earth, Milky Way, and universe — such as those seen in the above slideshow — on the last Tuesday of each month using data the museum collects from NASA daily.
For more information about the Rose Center's 10th anniversary celebration, check out their website.
