Dr. Edmond E. Griffin Planetarium
The Dr. Edmond E. Griffin Planetarium, located on the University of Central Arkansas Campus in the Conway Corporation Center for the Sciences, serves as an astronomy and science education resource center for central Arkansas.听 The planetarium is part of the outreach component of the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering, and as such, it supports astronomy teaching on campus, as well as, offers planetarium shows to school groups and the general public.
*听Field Trip Information – Click Here听*
Hardware/software upgrades should be completed in early April.
Field trip slots for the spring are open for late April and May 2026. The field trip slots for May also include Nature Reserve tours. Please complete the online form to reserve your spot.
Spring 2026 Public Shows
April 24 and 25, 7pm: 听Big Astronomy:People, Places, Discoveries
鈥淗ighlights the telescopes and the diverse people who enable discoveries at world-class observatories in Chile.鈥�
May 1 and 2, 7pm: 听Unveiling the Invisible Universe
鈥淔or thousands of years the humans observed the light coming from the night sky with their eyes. In the beginning of the 17th century, the invention of the telescope by Galileo revolutionized our knowledge of the Universe. Finally, in the 20th century with the advent of rockets, it became possible to go above the earth鈥檚 atmosphere and observe X-ray and gamma ray radiation which are the marks of the hot and violent Universe. But it is not only light that can give us information about the cosmos. Neutrinos and cosmic rays also provide vital information. Finally, the detection by the LIGO experiment of gravitational waves from two merging black holes opened a new window in astrophysics. This video presents images of the cosmos as revealed by all these different messengers.鈥�
May 8 and 9, 7pm:听 Phantom of the Universe
鈥淔rom the journey of protons racing through the world鈥檚 largest particle collider in Europe to up-close views of the Big Bang and emergent cosmos, this show immerses the audience in the search for dark matter. 听It is narrated by Oscar-winning actress, Tilda Swinton.鈥�
May 15 and 16, 7pm:听 Out There:听 The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds
鈥ㄢ�淭his show tells the story of how human curiosity has driven us to look outwards for millennia, to discover and explore new and distant worlds and to find the unfamiliar and extraordinary forms of life that could exist in the mysterious realms of the Universe.鈥�
May 22 and 23, 7pm:听 From Earth to the Universe
鈥淭he night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity鈥檚 oldest shared intellectual experience. Yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today鈥檚 grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience From Earth to the Universe.听 This stunning, 30-minute voyage through space and time conveys, through sparkling sights and sounds, the Universe revealed to us by science. Viewers can revel in the splendor of the worlds in the Solar System and our scorching Sun. From Earth to the Universe takes the audience out to the colorful birthplaces and burial grounds of stars, and still further out beyond the Milky Way to the unimaginable immensity of myriad galaxies.听 Along the way, the audience will learn about the history of astronomy, the invention of the telescope, and today鈥檚 giant telescopes that allow us to probe ever deeper into the Universe.鈥�
SUPPORT GRIFFIN:
ABOUT:
Contact:
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Central Arkansas听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听phone: 501.450.5900
Conway, AR 72035听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听fax: 501.852.2286
Staff:
Dr. Scott听听Austin听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听saustin@uca.edu
Director of Astronomical Facilities
Associate Professor of Astronomy and Physics
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Central Arkansas听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听phone: 501.450.5907
Conway, AR 72035听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听fax: 501.852.2286
History:
From 1987 to 2015, the original BT天堂planetarium that was located in Lewis Science Center used an electromechanical planetarium projector and a thirty-foot dome to simulate the sky as seen from the surface of the Earth.
The current digital planetarium in the Conway Corporation Center for the Sciences consists of 94 seats under a forty-foot diameter dome onto which an Evans & Sutherland dual projector Digistar 7 system creates a virtual universe.听 The universe can now be seen from other locations in the universe, such as, in orbit around Saturn, near a binary star system in our galaxy, or from a galaxy a several million light years from the Earth.
The building of a new planetarium was supported by Dr. Sue Griffin, a world-class neuroscientist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and named in memory of her husband Dr. Ed Griffin, a long-time faculty member, chair of the BT天堂Biology Department, and astronomy enthusiast.
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