Double Feature at TAMIU LBV Planetarium

See two shows for the price of one at Texas A&M International University's Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, Friday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.

For one night only, peer deep into space through the eyes of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope with "Wonders of the Universe" and travel back billions of years in time to witness the birth of the universe. On this breathtaking excursion, witness the formation of galaxies and explore some of the most wondrous nebulae and astronomical structures yet discovered. Fly deep into the Milky Way Galaxy and return to Earth on a spectacular tour through the solar system.

In addition to traveling through the universe, take a roller coaster ride inside a body with "Microcosm." At the Center of Miniaturized Medicine in the year 2053, audiences will shrink down to the size of a microbe and get injected into a patient who is suffering an infection from a mysterious virus.

Produced in cooperation with the University of Utah Medical School, this high-speed immersive adventure is not only exciting, but educational as well. Travel from the base of the eye to the interior of the heart and explore exotic ports of call in CMM Probe Alpha with its robotic outboard scout vehicle. Piece together the clues the virus left behind and race against time to save the patient. Laser battles, genetic weapons, and lots of surprises along the way, make this a show audiences will want to experience again and again.

General admission tickets for are $5; tickets for TAMIU students, faculty and staff and children under 12 are $4. Buy a ticket for a second showing on the same weekend, and save $2 off the second ticket. Group rates are available for 50 or more people; advance reservations required.

Other shows currently showing at the Planetarium include: "Kaluoka'hina, The Enchanted Reef," an adventure story for young and young-at-heart; "Secret of the Cardboard Rocket," two very imaginative children build a rocket from a large cardboard box and explore the solar system and travel into the stormy clouds of Jupiter, fly through the rings of Saturn, land on Venus, the Moon, Mars, and Pluto, and fly past Mercury, Uranus, and Neptune; and "enTRANCEd," a music entertainment show that combines digital animation, laser beamwork, and live-performed visual effects inside the TAMIU theatre's 45-foot dome fashioned to a combination of modern and classic examples of Techno, Rave, and Trance styles.

The Digistar 3 projectors use powerful graphics hardware and software to generate immersive full-dome images on the interior surface of a dome, integrating all-dome video, real time 3D computer graphics, and a complete astronomy package.

For more information and show schedule, visit the Planetarium on the Web at tamiu.edu/coas/planetarium or call the show the 24 hour show line at 956. 326.2444.

For information on group rates, please call Laura Jimenez at 326.2463 or e-mail planetarium@tamiu.edu.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu