Site and Address
Clark Planetarium
A Salt Lake County Facility
110 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101-1145
www.clarkplanetarium.org
(801) 456-STAR

Date of Visit:31 March 2007

Hours
Monday - Thursday, 10:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday, 10:30 AM to 11:00 PM
Sunday, 10:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
Closes early Christmas Eve

Admission
Free to the museum, the only charge is for the ATK IMAX and Hansen Dome Theatres General: $8.00
Children under 12 $5.00
Matinee: $5.00

Travel Notes
A six hour drive from Boise
We passed museums in Ogden and a geology display at the last rest stop in Idaho

Site Notes
A two story museum with Utah's only 3-D IMAX theater. The first displays we saw explained moon phases and the rotation of the earth. This included information on eclipses and the seasons. There's a section on optics where you can shine light on a large lens and prism. The lunar gravity simulator is so popular that tickets are required. The display on stars explains the birth and death of stars. Clark also includes displays on Hubble and Mars mission images. On the top floor we found large models of the planets (to scale) with paintings of what the sun looks like from their surfaces. A closed circuit television lets you play weather reporter on the evening news. There are two landscapes, one of the moon and the other of Mars. You can stand on these landscapes and have a friend take your picture. You can see a moon rock returned by Apollo 15 and listen to an audio-visual tour of the Apollo 15 mission. There is also a very nice meteorite display on the second floor.

There's a cafeteria on the middle floor. There are also many restaurants and shopping nearby.

The gift shop carried more telescopes and binoculars than any gift shop I've seen to date. In addition we saw science toys, plastic and stuffed animals, posters, clothing, Estes model rockets and motors, stickers, videos, books, small globes, rocks and minerals, juggling supplies, mission patches, and astronomy software.

Paul’s Favorite
Without a doubt the lunar gravity simulator. The simulator used a pulley and weight system to offset 5/6ths of your weight. I was able to jump higher and farther than ever before. I liked the fact that they had Styrofoam rocks for you to collect and place inside a basket, which expanded the simulator from just a ride to a more interactive "mission" type activity.

Rachel’s Favorite
The lunar gravity simulator was my favorite as well; it was quite an experience floating like an astronaut. I also liked the enlarged planet display where you could learn about the characterstics of the planets and solar system by answering trivia questions.