The Planetarium Science Center is a department in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina or Maktabat al-Iskandarīyah is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria...

 in Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. It promotes the concept of science centers as an educational tool.

The Planetarium

A planetarium may be defined as:

• A building housing, an instrument for projecting the position of celestial bodies onto a domed celling.
• An optical device for projecting images of celestial bodies and astronpmical phenomena onto the inner surface of a hemispherical dome.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina's Planetarium Shows:

• Solarmax (IMAX 40min.)
• Star Show (Live Show 45min.)
• Oasis in Space (Panorama 25 min.)
• Ring of fire (IMAX 40 min.)
• Human Body (IMAX 40 min.)

ALEXPloratorium

It is located next to the Planetarium, where visitors are able to interact with its exhibits which cover various scientific topics, with emphasis on Physics and Astronomy.

Listen and Discover

Short and simple scientific documentary films are displayed according to a predefined schedule. The Films are of a lively nature that attract audience and help them understand scientific issues in an appealing, simple yet interesting manner.

Hands-on Workshops

Within the mission and strategy adopted by the PSC. The History of Science Museum conducts a variety of workshops to facilitate and animate the information in the museum in a simple fun manner.

Topics offered in the PSC workshops include:

• Chemistry
  Chemistry
  Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
  
  
• Volcanoes
• DNA
  DNA
  Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
  
  
• Agriculture
  Agriculture
  Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
  
  
• Five Senses
• Sound
  Sound
  Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
  
  
• Genetics
  Genetics
  Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
  
  
• Air
• Magnetics
• Dinosaurs
• First Aid
  First aid
  First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
  
  
• Colors
• Mechanics
  Mechanics
  Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
  
  
• Gravity
• Light
  Light
  Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
  
  
• Time measurement

Remote Sensing Workshop

This program introduces the scientific participles of remote sensing. and offers hands-on applications. Participants are introduced to the impact of natural events through history using a series of satellites images, as well as the analysis of recent images to comprehend the current situation. They are also exposed to other environmental issues that are related to the workshop theme.

Zoom Earth Program

This program comprises different kinds of educational activities, such as series of lectures, workshops and field trips. The program mainly tackles topics such as irrigation, meteorology, volcanoes and earthquakes.

Discover your Environment Camp

A winter camp, Discover your Environment allows students to interact with various fields of science through entertaining activities in the courses of an amazing journey to the Siwa desert organized by the PSC.

RoboAlex Center

The RoboAlex Center at the Alexploratorium offers hands-on robotic challenges guided by animators. The participating groups design, program, and test robots on a special playing field to accomplish certain missions.

Science Club

Science Club implements educational and science programs at schools; they aim to "simulate curiosity, interest and enjoyment in science and its methods of inquiry, to develop experiment and investigative abilities and develop children's abilities and skills."

Super Science Show

The Super Science Show gets participating children involved in hands-on experiment. The show includes experiments in the fields of physics, biology, and chemistry.

Alexploratorium Contest

The Alexploratorium Contest familiarize students of different age groups with essential topics in science like IQ tests and teamwork; it also tackles important scientific discoveries.

Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes is a traditional annual Festival that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina organizes with the aim of promoting science and heritage among school students. The Festivities of 2003-2008 evolved around measuring the Earth's circumference, following the footsteps of Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes of Cyrene was a Greek mathematician, poet, athlete, geographer, astronomer, and music theorist.He was the first person to use the word "geography" and invented the discipline of geography as we understand it...

.

First-Lego League in Egypt Competition Finale

The result of an alliance between FIRST(For Inspiration and Recogenition of Science and Technology) and LEGO

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

, First Lego League (FLL) is an international hands-on, sport-like robotics program for children 9-14.
Guided by mentors, FLL student solve actual engineering challenges.

Intel ISEF

The International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is an international science competition that provides an opporunity for young scientists and inventors to come together to share ideas and showcase cutting-edge science projects. The competition promotes achievement in science to students 14-18 Years. The international competition occurs every year in the USA, bringing together students, teachers, corporate executives, and government officials from around the world to compete for over 4 million USD in scholarships, tuition grants, scientific equipment, and scientific trips.

World Water Day

On the occasion of the international celebration of World Water Day, the PSC organizes one-day festival.

World Environmental Day

Commemorated each year on 5 June, World Environmental Day (or simply Earth Day

Earth Day

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

) is one of the vehicles through which the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The Slogan for 2008 was "CO2 Kick the habit": Towards a low-carbon Economy.

The Planetarium's Revamp

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina reopened its planetarium doors after having equipped itself with a newly installed state of the art dome projection system and a set of stunning shows to go along with it.

With the new system running, the sea-side Bibliotheca and the Planetarium Science Center (PSC, the library's affiliate nonprofit educational center) are now ready to jointly host the 20th International Planetarium Society conference in June, 2010.

Digistar 3

The planetarium describes its new system which is known as Digistar 3 as a "cutting-edge full-dome projection system with a rich set of real-time 3D astronomy features and a wide database of celestial bodies that enables the audience to explore the universe as never before."

Stunning Shows

"Stars of the Pharaohs" is one of the shows currently displayed at the PSC which is centered on Ancient Egyptian astronomy. It answers questions like how much truth is there to claims that the Pharaohs' monuments were observatories, possessed magical powers or were even built by aliens? How did the Egyptians see and use the stars, and what is their legacy to us?

"New Horizons" on the other hand is a show focusing on modern astronomical discoveries and insights. The show promises to take the viewer on an "expedition through the Solar System and into the realm of comets." Its focus is one of exploration. (Alexandria's Planetarium Revamps its Gear)

See also

• List of planetariums
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  The Bibliotheca Alexandrina or Maktabat al-Iskandarīyah is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria...
  
  
• Library of Alexandria
  Library of Alexandria
  The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
  
  
• Planetarium
  Planetarium
  A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
  
  
• International Planetarium Society
  International Planetarium Society
  The International Planetarium Society is the largest organization of professional planetarians in the world. It includes members from almost every continent and over twenty affiliate organizations. The IPS publishes a quarterly journal, The Planetarian, and holds a convention in even numbered...
  
  
• Observatory
  Observatory
  An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...