A Cosmic Field Trip
Last entry I talked about the upcoming Cosmos series,which begins airing on March 9th on Fox and affiliated networks. There’s a lot of excitement about it, and rightly so. It has been decades since the original came out, and those of us who remember it have been anxiously awaiting this next-generation version to see how it shapes up. But, it’s not just that. It’s also because a generation of us were “raised” in the tradition that Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan and Stephen Soter began, and were inspired to go out to share our love of the cosmos in their footsteps. We took it as our mantra to “pay it forward” and share the cosmos as these three did for us. Certainly that’s what led me to become a producer of astronomy and space shows. Again, thanks to those three.
So far, based on the special sneak preview copy that FOX sent to me, I like it (with the few caveats I mentioned earlier). I think it’s SO important to keep our awareness of the cosmos front and center, to remind ourselves that we have so many cool things to learn and explore through astronomy and science. I’ve been doing that through my writing and planetarium shows and documentaries and other astronomy outreach, and I’m happy to see that at least one part of the “mainstream media” interested in doing that, too. And, part of me is a kid excited about astronomy that says, “Come on folks — it’s COSMOS!!!”
The series officially begins airing on March 9th, but there is a really cool multi-city live premiere screening on March 4th featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson, producers Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane, Mitchell Cannold, Brannon Braga, and Jason Clark. Wow, would I LOVE to be at the Los Angeles premiere (right in the shadow of Griffith Observatory, where I did so much work on their exhibits a few years back). That would be impressive, no?
Live in L.A.? Then YOU can go there for me!
In fact, there’s a special contest for two lucky folks to win a trip to L.A. to do just that. Enter that here!
The main event is in Los Angeles at the Cosmos Pavilion at the Greek Theatre. You can also watch it from selected venues in any of the following cities: Detroit at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, in Miami at the Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of Science, in New York at the American Museum of Natural History, in Orlando at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in Washington, D.C. at the National Geographic Headquarters, in Chicago at the Adler Planetarium, in Dallas at the Planetarium of the University of Texas at Arlington, in St. Louis at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center, and in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences.
To attend at any of the venues, click HERE for RSVP details.
You can also watch the whole thing as a streaming experience if you can’t get to one of the cities. Just point your browser to http://new.livestream.com/ and/or www.cosmosontv.com for the whole experience from your computer.
Whatever you do, don’t miss seeing Cosmos. It’s the astronomy field trip of a lifetime!