Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium — Attraction in Tucson

So there are two things that scare the hell out of me in this life. Taxes and sharks. They’re both bloodthirsty, fearless creatures and I want to do whatever I physically can to avoid them for the entirety of my existence. You can just replace the shark with the IRS logo and Jaws will still be the same movie except with an unhappy ending. That being said, Shark Week is back and despite my fear of sharks, I still find the whole Discovery Channel cash cow phenomenal. Mostly because I find it hilarious how they spend half an hour on a show titled something like “Craziest Shark Attacks” where a family is torn to shreds off the coast of Australia and then they interview the whole town about how sharks are the devil but then have the gall to air a PSA afterward about shark conservation and protection. Way to stay with the consistent messaging there, Discovery Channel.

Anyway, since it’s Shark Week, I saw some advertisements for the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium and their focus on their Science Center Exhibit entitled- Sharks: Magnificent & Misunderstood which is how I describe myself to every female I have any interest in. Now, I came to the planetarium a few years back with a buddy but he got kicked out because he had a few drinks beforehand and started berating the staff about what they REALLY know and why they’re hiding the truth about flat earth and then went off about the discrepencies with the moon landing footage and how it’s convenient that we lost the data tapes and something about Kubrick’s covert hoax admission in The Shining movie and bla bla bla. He started throwing glow in the dark stars everywhere and that was that. He passed out in the backseat as I drove him home and I haven’t been back since. I just watched Terrence Howard on the Rogan podcast question Newtonian Laws and theories of quantum physics and I wanted to avoid the temptation of angering staff there myself, so I figured i’d beeline it to the shark area.

I finally reached the Shark exhibit and I knew it was the shark exhibit because I gasped when I saw their model shark tails sticking out of the brick wall. My heart started to race and one of the employees saw me begin to hyperventilate and asked if I was okay. “I’m fine, I just have a fear of sharks and i’m forcing myself into exposure therapy so in case I ever need to fight one, I won’t freeze up.” He calmly replied “well, sharks do not deliberately hunt humans and chances of getting attacked by a shark are similar to being struck by lightning” to which I replied I had an uncle who got struck by lightning. He took a minute before suggesting I should explore the area and learn more about the behavior of sharks. So I did. There was the Deep Sea Explorer* simulator** which simulates a research submarine but if it’s not “Eccentric Foolhardy, Billionaire Obsessed with The Titanic Simulator” then I don’t want it. I almost tripped on a Megaladon dorsal fin which almost made me cry before checking out the **Hungry Shark and *Shark Racer which were friendly learning games that teach about shark biology and physiology. Then I finally braved the Towering tail fins and massive shark jaws.

I walked back over to the employee from before and asked him “so what makes the white shark so great anyway? Is it the size? If so, why don’t we call polar bears the Great White Bears? The shark isn’t even fully white like a beluga whale. Have you seen those things, by the way? HUGE foreheads. Funny lookin guys.” He just stared at me so I said “Happy Shark Week” and left. I’m just thankful we live in AZ and not near the ocean now. Maybe global warming will sink California and then we’ll have more Cali people here and they scare me more than...

Absolutely first class programming. I have been doing every stargazing program I can find in my too-short stay in Tucson and was completely blown away by their Science at Sunset program. Shiloe, an astronomer who runs the Flandrau programming is clearly a talented educator and committed to transmitting her love for science. She answered all my (numerous) questions clearly and exactly at my level, in way that sparked wonder and encouraged more questions. She loves all that is up there in the night sky and wants you to love (and understand) it too.

The evening was just perfectly curated, perfect paced and perfectly moderated, with a live presentation by a graduate student in the planetarium dome, opportunities to view both the moon and Saturn through Dobsonian telescopes on the mall, then the spectacular Imagining the Moon show, and time in the Steward Observatory's 21" telescope.

I did the much more expensive night stargazing program at Kitt's Peak two days earlier, which theoretically should be superior because the viewing conditions are infinity better at Kitt's Peak- the site was selected for our national observatory after all, plus there was not cloud cover and the moon was two days less waxing. But this program was vastly more rewarding.

I kept running across a couple doing this Saturday-evening stargazing program as a date and I could see them sharing their sense of awe and joy and overheard one of them comment that it was the most amazing evening she had had in years. I attended alone and can attest that, as wonderful an idea for a date as it might be, all by yourself is fantastic too.

I would have been very sad to have left Tucson without...

My grandchildren were visiting from out of town recently with their two young children, ages 4 and 5 months. We went to see the movie “My Perfect Little Planet” and my 4-year old great grandson (and even my 5-month old great granddaughter) were totally enthralled by the experience. My little guy talked about the different planets and how we live on the “very bestest one of all”. My adult grandchildren and I were very impressed with the animated way our solar system was presented to small children. We even learned a few things! My little guy wanted to see it again! When the movie was over and the gentleman was showing the constellations, my great grandson was very excited to see the different shapes the stars made. He even invented a few of his own!

After the movie, we went into the science center. My grandson and his son had great fun testing the weight of items on the different planets. We all also really enjoyed the gem exhibit. Thank you for an exceptional experience for my family and me. I will take future visitors to...