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Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium

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A scene from the Taylor Swift laser light show. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli

By Jennifer Donatelli

While her Eras Tour may be over, you can still experience Taylor Swift’s music in a whole new way — without shelling out thousands for tickets. In an exciting blend of music, technology and astronomy, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport is hosting a dazzling laser light show featuring the music of one of the biggest artists of the 21st century.

The Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, known for its innovative educational and entertainment programming, has introduced the Taylor Swift Laser Light Show, a unique fusion of astronomy and pop culture. The planetarium’s state-of-the-art dome transforms into a visual spectacle, immersing audiences in Swift’s iconic hits like “Anti-Hero,” “Fearless” and “Shake It Off.”

“This is not your average concert but a celestial experience,” said Dave Bush, director of the Vanderbilt Planetarium. The show combines intricate laser projections, animated visuals and stunning astronomy displays synchronized to Swift’s chart-topping music. Each song is carefully paired with vibrant light patterns and celestial imagery, evoking the awe of stargazing alongside Swift’s unforgettable melodies.

For Swifties and fans of immersive entertainment, this event has become a must-see. “She’s a Swiftie, and I love laser light shows,” said Matthew Verstraten, a history teacher from Middle Island who attended the show with his fiancée Angelina Shtenger.

Tara Moore, who attended with her family to celebrate her birthday, shared her excitement, saying, “I’ve followed Taylor Swift since she was 17 and playing country music. The laser show was an amazing experience filled with music, lights and excitement.” Her five-year-old son Finn added enthusiastically, “I’m a Swiftie too!”

The planetarium’s advanced projection and audio systems ensure a flawless experience, with every light beam and color shift perfectly aligned to the rhythm and emotion of the music. The show’s appeal is wide-ranging, offering something for everyone — from die-hard Swifties to families seeking an educational yet entertaining outing.

Roz Katz of Farmingdale and Jonathan Winter of Woodmere admitted they weren’t familiar with Swift’s music when they bought tickets, but after the show, they were singing “You Belong with Me” in the lobby. “It was incredible!” they said.

The Taylor Swift Laser Light Show has become one of the planetarium’s most popular offerings, drawing audiences for over a year and a half. “We thought it would be successful, but the magnitude has been unbelievable,” said Bush. “It’s a concert-like experience without the high ticket prices.”

The show, which features 12–14 tracks per performance, changes its setlist every six weeks to keep the experience fresh. Audience members often come dressed for the occasion, wearing glow-in-the-dark necklaces, heart-shaped glasses and other concert-inspired accessories.

For more information on the show and other events, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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A scene from the visual immersion concert at the Vanderbilt Planetarium. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli

By Jennifer Donatelli

On November 10, as strings played, music and the cosmos united in a concert that took its audience on a journey through time and space at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium’s annual Strings Under the Stars event. 

Performing to a sold out crowd, professional musicians from Long Island Chamber Music played a program of introspective classical music, as visuals of space were projected onto a 60 foot dome.

Dave Bush, Program Director of the Planetarium, explained the dome video sequences displayed “things related to outer space.”

“[Some things shown] are stellar nurseries and explosions, paired with scenes that are slow moving, all set to music, so it’s comforting and transportive at the same time,” Bush explained.

““The music,” he went on, “is amplified by the sound system, and the visuals have been specifically picked to match the mood of all of the pieces.”

Long Island Chamber Music is a non-profit organization, founded by husband and wife team, Eric Huckins and Gergana Haralampieva. Their mission is to make professional classical music of the highest caliber accessible to Long Island audiences. 

Huckins said the artists they work with are world-class musicians from Long Island and New York City and are chosen from institutions such as Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Concert Artist Guild, among others.

“In addition to being leaders in their art form, our musicians are teaching artists, entrepreneurs, and socially-minded advocates for classical music,” Huckins explained.

Haralampieva elaborated, explaining that the immersive quality of concerts like these makes it easier for a wide range of audiences to “connect with classical music.”

Bush added that this type of show has grown in popularity through the years, and that Long Island Chamber Music consistently added new music and visuals to their performances.

Marc and Daniela Wong of Huntington, enjoyed their night out under the stars.

“We go to concerts a lot, but I have never seen or heard anything quite as spectacular as this. The music is amazing and the immersive idea is brilliant,” said Wong.

For more information on upcoming concerts and educational programs held by Long Island Chamber Music, visit their website at, www.longislandchambermusic.com. And to see upcoming events held at the Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion & Planetarium, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport presents a special evening of storytelling and stargazing for families with young children on Sunday, Oct. 20 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

A live narrator at the front of the theater will bring selected picture books to life, with pages projected onto the Planetarium dome for families to enjoy the illustrations and follow along. Between stories, an astronomy educator will explore seasonal constellations visible from here on Long Island. All children are invited to wear their Halloween costumes and bring their favorite stuffed animal.

The admission fee is $8 per person and $6 for members.

To register, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org or click here.

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Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road Centerport continues its lecture series with a presentation titled In Levittown’s Shadow with historian Tim Keogh on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.

Keogh will give a lecture on his book In Levittown’s Shadow: Poverty in America’s Wealthiest Postwar Suburb which takes a nuanced look at the history of suburban development and its connection to impoverished living conditions on Long Island.

“This forgotten part of Long Island’s past is one that continues to shape the Island’s current job and housing challenges,” Keogh said.

In Levittown’s Shadow (The University of Chicago Press, 2023), he examines the familiar narrative about American suburbs – after 1945, white residents left cities for leafy, affluent subdivisions and the prosperity they seemed to embody. Keogh’s research reveals that there is more to this story. He offers an eye-opening account of diverse, poor residents living and working in those same neighborhoods. Keogh shows how public policies produced both suburban plenty and deprivation—and why ignoring suburban poverty doomed efforts to reduce inequality.

Tim Keogh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Queensborough Community College. He earned an A.A. degree from Nassau Community College (2005), a B.A. in History from Hofstra University (2007), and M.A. degree in History from Hunter College (2010), and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in History from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

In Levittown’s Shadow: Poverty in America’s Wealthiest Postwar Suburbwon the Dixon Ryan Fox Prize for best manuscript in New York history. He is the editor of War and the City: The Urban Context of Conflict and Mass Destruction and his published work can be found in The New Republic, Nonsite, Journal of Urban History, and Journal of Planning Education and Research, among others. He is a Long Island native, and currently lives there with his wife and children.

Tickets are $10 at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org or click here.

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On Thursday, March 16, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport will host Michael Mehta Webster, Professor of Practice in Environmental Studies at New York University (NYU), for an evening lecture on global warming and nature’s inherent resilience. The event will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.

Webster’s lecture will draw heavily from his 2022 book The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth (Timber Press). In The Rescue Effect, Webster offers cause for optimism in the often-disheartening discourse around anthropogenic climate change. Through a series of compelling animal stories—from tigers in the jungles of India to cichlid fish in the great lakes of Africa and coral reefs in the Caribbean—Webster will highlight how certain species have adapted to a rapidly changing world.

Webster also will explore how other species, like the mountain pygmy possum, are at risk of extinction without substantive but practicable efforts on the part of conservationists, activists, and concerned citizens of our planet.

Webster argues that we have good reason to expect a bright future because almost everywhere we look, we can see evidence of nature rescuing many species from extinction. The Rescue Effect provides a much-needed roadmap to discovering what we can do to make a healthier Earth for future generations of humans and wildlife.

Tickets are $10 per person, free for members at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

PURCHASE TICKETS

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The award-winning, visual music journey Mesmerica has returned to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Reichert Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport with showings each week on Fridays and Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The hour-long show features 360-degree projections and stunning 7.1 surround sound.

The program brings the music of James Hood, an award-winning composer and percussionist, together with visually hypnotic, animated 3D art curated from artists around the world. Mesmerica is designed to transcend time, relax, and soothe while simultaneously stimulating the senses.

“The power of immersive music and art is like no other art form,” Hood said. “It has the ability to create unique moods and brain states. The result is an experience that is simultaneously an epic immersive visual journey and an opportunity to de-stress.” The soundtrack, taken from Hood’s album Mesmerica, is based around the sound of a uniquely soothing percussion instrument called the “Hang.”

James Hood is renowned as a vital and versatile musical pioneer. His lengthy and varied musical resume includes playing drums in The Pretenders; an ongoing two-decades-plus run as mastermind of the visionary ambient/electronica act Moodswings; and an expansive array of production and soundtrack projects. His album Ceremony reached number one on World and New Age charts in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK in 2014, then repeated that success with the release of Pure Ceremony in 2015.

Tickets can be purchased directly through Hood’s Mesmerica site: PURCHASE TICKETS

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The tip of the ‘wing’ of the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy NASA photo

As part of its Summer Sunday series, Brookhaven National Laboratory is bringing science to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport on July 17 with a program titled SPACE from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join scientists from BNL as they discuss the wonders of the universe and take turns with hands-on experiences that show the different weights in different planetary gravities, explore craters of the moon, and more! Admission is free to the public until 2 p.m.

Visitors will have access to the grounds as well as exhibits in the Vanderbilt Mansion and Hall of Fishes marine museum. Seating for the scientific talks and Planetarium shows require reservations. Please click on any program segment below to reserve your seat.

10:00 am – “The Invisible Universe.” Scientist Steven Bellavia of Brookhaven Lab’s Collider-Accelerator Department will share his talk about the universe (45 minutes).

11:00 am – “Can We See the Flag on the Moon?” Scientist Steven Bellavia of Brookhaven Lab’s Collider-Accelerator Department will share his talk about the flag on the moon (45 minutes).

Noon – “One World, One Sky” Planetarium astronomy show (45 minutes). Elmo and Big Bird live in the United States and Hu Hu Zhu lives far away in China, but they discover they see the same stars at night.

1:00 pm – “A Guide to Galactic Cosmic Rays: Studying Space Particles at Brookhaven National Lab.” Scientist Jessica Gasparik of Brookhaven Lab’s NASA Space Radiation Laboratory will speak about galactic cosmic rays (45 minutes).

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The Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium

Spend an evening at the Vanderbilt  Reichert Planetarium with Grace Grella, nationally acclaimed psychic and host of The Grace Grella Show on NSTV on Sept. 30 from 7 to 9 p.m.  

After surviving three near-death experiences at the age of seven, Grace’s connection with the spirit world began. She has studied metaphysics, psychic and mediumship development, astrology, numerology, and rune stones. Grace is also a certified Reiki master.

She will give audience members “messages from above.” Doors open at 6:30 pm, show begins at 7 pm. Seats are first-come, first-served.

Grace has appeared on national television (MTV, NBC) and on Long island radio (WBAB, WUSB), and has hosted her own live, unscripted, Long Island cable show for more than 25 years.

Tickets: $25 members, $35 non-members, $45 at the door. The evening includes a one-hour show, and one hour of Zodiac forecasting for 2021. Grace will do audience-style readings for entertainment only. Attendance does not guarantee a reading.

Tickets are nonrefundable.

Seats are limited! Purchase tickets early. This event will sell out!

Purchase Tickets

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The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Reichert Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport presents One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure on Nov. 21 and 22 at 11 a.m. Elmo and Big Bird live in the United States and Hu Hu Zhu lives far away in China, but they discovered that they see the same stars at night. For ages 2 to 8. Tickets, which include admission to the museum and access to the grounds, are $13 for children, $16 adults, $15 seniors. To order, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Museum

A celestial evening

The critically acclaimed Canta Libre Chamber Ensemble returns to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport for a fall concert featuring music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets for adults are $20 online at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org, $25 at the door; $15 for children ages 15 and under.

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