Morehead Planetarium launches new family program

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center has launched a new program designed for kids 7 to 12 and their adults and switched up its long-running Starry Nights program.

Starry Nights, which has been designed for ages 16 and older, was an extended version of the popular "Carolina Skies" planetarium show but presented as a class instead of a show. Amy Sayle, a Morehead educator who leads Starry Nights and some of the other specialty planetarium shows, wanted to expand the series and offer some new topics.

After lots of discussion and feedback, Morehead leaders decided to create two series, Karen Kornegay, Morehead's marketing manager tells me.

Now Starry Nights is for ages 13 and older and covers a different topic each month.

Star Families covers the same topic as Starry Nights each month but is designed for families with kids ages 7 to 12. At 45 minutes, Star Families is half the length of Starry Nights. And it's on Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. instead of on a weeknight, the usual time for the Starry Nights program.

Parents must attend with their kids and pricing is based on a family group. It's $20 for up to four family members. Extra family members can be added to the group for $2 per extra person. Registration is recommended in advance, but walk-ups can be accommodated if space is available (but not that there are no guarantees).

The next Star Families program is 9:30 a.m. Saturday and focuses on planets. 

And here are some of the other upcoming dates and topics:

March 19, "Women in Astronomy"