Telescopes: Through the Looking Glass presents the technology used to gather information about the Universe. Featuring some of the world's most important telescopes and one-of-a-kind hands-on interactives, the exhibition will explore the extraordinary beauty and technology of these amazing instruments and the objects they enable us to discover.

For more information, visit the Telescopes Exhibit page.

Time passes as a shadow. Discover the beauty and historical significance of sundials in the Adler's newest exhibition Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. The exhibition includes more than a dozen exquisite artifacts from the 17th and 18th centuries and originating from France, Austria, and Germany.

Drawn from the Adler's Mensing Collection, the sundials featured are hand crafted from stone, brass, silver, and bronze. Several are massive pieces of stone or metal — built on bases of hard rock and weighing as much as forty pounds. Others are smaller and more delicate. Some of the more unique pieces are a group of stone sundials that are elaborately painted with colorful coats of arms.

As a complement to the exhibition, visitors can also view the Adler's Henry Moore Sundial, Man Enters the Cosmos. The spectacular thirteen-foot-tall Moore Sundial is installed outside of the Adler, just west of the main entrance on Sundial Plaza.

The Adler Planetarium is partnering with O'Hare International Airport to present From Earth to the Universe, a collection of astronomical images that will showcase dramatic views of our Universe.

The images represent the incredible variety of astronomical objects that are known to exist - planets, comets, stars, nebulae, galaxies and the clusters in which they congregate - and will be exhibited in numerous locations throughout the world in 2009. The Chicago exhibition of more than 50 images will be on display in the pedestrian walkway tunnel near the CTA station at O'Hare International Airport and will feature images captured by astronomers from the Adler and the University of Chicago.

The exhibition also offers something more for the technologically-savvy traveler. Viewers with a smartphone can take a picture of a bar code posted on each image and pull up more information about the featured celestial body. This project is offered in conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

The Adler Planetarium is displaying 'Nergy, a solar electric car engineered by the Northwestern University Solar Car Team. The team designed 'Nergy to compete in the 2001 American Solar Challenge, a 10-day, 2,300-mile race from Chicago to L.A. along historic Route 66. During the race, 498 silicon solar cells generated an average of 700 watts to power the car at an average speed of 25 mph.

CyberSpace is the future of museum going experiences. It features computer-based interactive exhibits, VisionStations providing realistic immersive experiences of the Universe, a CyberClassroom for up to date information on current Astronomy and a Cyberstudio for interactive video conferencing. It is the central component of Adler's Center for Space Science Education, which has been supported by NASA and the U.S. Department of Education.

Located in the Pritzker Cosmology Gallery, the exhibit traces the changing views of the cosmos and highlights modern cosmology. Artifacts and interactives that explain current thinking about our dynamic and expanding universe are featured in this gallery.

The Milky Way Galaxy exhibition introduces visitors to the wonders of our home galaxy and acquaints them with our dynamic and evolving Milky Way Galaxy. Located in the gallery is The Dynamic Gallery Theater. Generously donated by The Field Institute of Illinois, Inc., visitors can experience a 3-D tour of the Milky Way. This gallery was funded by Ameritech and the National Science Foundation.

The Solar System is much more than a star and eight planets. Explore the many worlds — planets, moons, comets and asteroids — that orbit the Sun. Drive a rover that's examining the surface of Mars, shoot projectiles into a soft surface to size up the craters they leave behind, and finally, sit down at a computer to build your own solar system and test its stability over time.

Shoot for the Moon at the Adler Planetarium! This new permanent exhibition highlights the exciting stories of space exploration and America's bold plans to return to the Moon.

The exhibition begins with A Journey with Jim Lovell, featuring the fully–restored Gemini 12 spacecraft and the Lovell Collection of personal space artifacts. In Mission: Moon, young visitors discover the thrills and dangers of being an explorer and imagine their own futures in space.

Discover more about this exhibit on the Shoot for the Moon page.

The Space Visualization Laboratory (SVL) presents the unique experience of a working visualization laboratory to museum visitors. Various projects are being developed all the time, and new devices are being tested. Visitors can interact with them at SVL, and meet Adler experts in an exciting and engaging environment while contributing their feedback. These interactions help in the creation of new experiences. SVL is open for one hour on weekdays, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm during which visitors can go behind the glass and talk to Adler space science and technology experts about on-going projects.

Learn about a time in history when people believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe. The exhibit features spectacular astrolabes, armillary spheres, and sundials to illustrate the medieval European and Middle Eastern conception of the Universe.