The Adler ‘Scope

“Chicago’s Black Women in STEAM” is a series on The Adler ’Scope that highlights the awesome women of Chicago who are doing amazing things in science, technology, engineering, art, and math fields here in our own community. Meet women of varying ages, backgrounds, and interests and learn their unique stories. Britt Julious Editorial Director at […]

Header Image: Chicagohenge as seen from West Adams Street. Image Credit: Tim Hara Update: This blog is revised each year with updated dates of Chicagohenge and the equinoxes. Greetings fellow Chicagoans! It is almost that time of year when nature and architecture harmoniously come together to create the phenomenon known as Chicagohenge. For those who […]

The Adler Planetarium first opened its doors to the public on May 12, 1930. This year, we’re celebrating 90 years of looking up on Chicago’s lakeshore. Over the decades, we have witnessed the dawn of human spaceflight, watched humankind fly to the Moon and back, launched experiments into space, helped millions of people connect with […]

Summer Camps at the Adler Planetarium are out-of-this-world. All summer long, campers have the whole universe at their fingertips. With tools like telescopes, programmable robots, and high-altitude balloons—and new friends around every corner—Adler summer campers share adventures of cosmic proportions. Manager of Program Development at the Adler Planetarium, Sarah Smail, is passionate about our Adler […]

The three naked-eye-visible planets outside Earth’s orbit will appear less than 20 degrees apart in the sky this month, March 2020. The planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be seen low in the southeast just as morning-twilight begins to lighten the sky. Jupiter is the brightest of the three, and it serves as a guidepost […]

YOU GUYS. It’s finally happening. We have reached the “hunting for meteorites underwater” portion of the Adler’s teen-led underwater meteorite hunt! If you’re new to the Aquarius Project, you can get the full story here. But here’s the short version: Green fireball in the sky, meteorites in the lake, assemblage of unlikely band of science […]

Header Image: Moon rising above the Adler Planetarium. Image Credit: Chris Smith Update: This blog is revised each year with upcoming date of supermoons. In 2023, four supermoons will occur! But what is a supermoon exactly? And why is it so “super”? What Is a Supermoon? Supermoon is a nickname that describes a Full Moon […]

Editor’s Note: Updated in May 2023 to reflect more current and updated information. Wes Lethem Former Theater Technician Hi Wes! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Working on the Museum Campus and specifically here at the Adler is a childhood dream come true, only it’s better than I ever could have imagined. As a […]

Arguably, one of the most well-known fixtures of our night sky is the Big Dipper. But did you know that this night-sky staple once served as a beacon to freedom here in America during the time of the Underground Railroad? In the early-to-mid 19th century, countless American slaves used the Big Dipper⁠—aka the Drinking Gourd⁠—as […]

Header Image: Benjamin Banneker’s almanac for the year 1795 being digitally scanned for preservation. BENJAMIN BANNEKER’S 1795 ALMANAC Way before we had smartphones, almanacs were an important source of practical information and amusement for many people. African-American astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), produced several almanacs, which were published over a period of six consecutive […]