Solar System Gallery September 25, 2008

In the first floor gallery, walk on the sun and weigh yourself on the moon and the planet Saturn. Here, you can meet Galileo, Isaac Newton, Copernicus and Kepleror, touch a fallen star--a meteorite a billion years older than any earth rock. You will discover how the planets got their names and why you live on the luckiest planet in the solar system. In the ceiling above these exhibits is an orrery--a giant solar system clock 40 feet across--which illustrates the relative orbital motion of planets, from speedy Mercury to lumbering Saturn. Also on display is the former planetarium's Zeiss star projector. Shaped like a giant 13-foot mechanical spider, this projector was made world famous when it was featured in the James Dean film 'Rebel Without A Cause.'