The Bassett Planetarium is currently closed for maintenance and renovation work. It is anticipated that the Planetarium will reopen lin the fall of 2024.
Out of this World by World Book
This unique series is a collaboration between World Book and NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Scientists tell how they grew from students to inventors and now tackle some of NASA’s biggest challenges. Useful for STEM/STEAM instruction and independent reading.
Educational Resources from WGBH PBS Learning
WGBH in collaboration with NASA presents digital media resources you can use to teach topics in K–12 Earth and Space Science. These free resources are organized into four grade bands. Each resource emphasizes engaging students in phenomena related to core ideas and science and engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards.
For over sixty years, Bassett Planetarium, located in Morgan Hall, has provided programs about the night sky to Amherst and Five College classes, and to regional community organizations and school groups.
Bassett Planetarium is open September-June, free of charge, to educational groups of 10 or more by appointment only. Please note that the building is not wheelchair accessible, nor are there adequate restrooms for groups. We do not provide programming for private groups.
Gifted to Amherst College by Preston R. Bassett, class of 1913, Bassett Planetarium is located on the second floor of Morgan Hall.
The facility is equipped with an original Spitz A3p optical projector and seats for 60 people under a 9.1 meter dome.
School and community groups are invited to explore the apparent motions of the sun and circumpolar constellations, celestial navigation, seasonal skies, and the mechanics and structure of the solar system and the universe.
