We went to the Planetarium on our very last night in Montreal, and the visit truly filled us with wonder and excitement to get home and attempt to find the constellations pointed out to us on our own. We actually arrived at the Planetarium around 10:30am Sunday morning, looking for something to do that would get us out of the cold rain and that was relatively close to our hotel (only about 2 blocks away). As we waited in line to pay for entrance to one of the shows, I noticed that the first show, "Little Bear" (Petite Ours), was for youngsters around the age of 4 and up. That was definitely not for my husband and me, no thanks! Instead, we purchased tickets to Night Sky (Ciel de Nuit), which was showing at 7:15pm for $6.50 Canadian per adult. (The charge for children under 17 is $3.25.) This show was supposedly for "avid stargazers," so that sounded about right to us. After purchasing our tickets, we toured the many pictures and exhibits, which educated us about everything from nebulas and distant galaxies to the difference between meteors and meteorites. After walking the circular hallways and coming back to our starting point, we left to return later that night.
That evening, once the theater had opened, we took our seats, which vaguely resembled either movie-theatre chairs or recliners. Once the Planetarium consultant entered the room, the lights dimmed and the show began. At this point, as we all looked up, a view of Montreal at night in all its bright glory could be seen, but very few of the stars, which were of course the "star" of the show, could be. Our consultant then advised us as the light of the stars increased and the light of the city decreased that he was taking us out into the country where we could see the stars even better. I cannot describe the feeling that I got as the stars became brighter and brighter and filled the "sky." Of course, I picked out stars I knew here and there, but there were so many of them that I had no idea about! Throughout the hour, we learned about the "Messy List" and which constellations give you the key to the map of stars. After it was all said and done, I was more than excited to shake our consultant’s hand and thank him for such an educational and wonderful experience. Truly, this show brought tears to my eyes as I was exposed to the wonders that are present in our own night sky.
For more information regarding the Montreal Planetarium, click on the following link:
http://www.planetarium.montreal.qc.ca/index_a.html