Now Showing! Thurs-Sat at 2 p.m. and Sun at 2:30 p.m.

Best suited for ages 10 and up | 40 minutes

FREE for Members. Included in Museum Admission for Non-Members.

MarsQuest is a chronicle tracing our centuries-long cultural and scientific fascination with the planet Mars. Set in a theatrical style “three-act” form with an epilogue, it weaves a satisfying narrative of what Mars means to humanity.

Trace Mars through history — from an “incantation” of the various War God forms given by different cultures, to the early observations of Schiaparelli and Lowell, and the infamous “canals” which led to science-fiction stories about Martians.

See the details of Mars through binoculars and telescopes, and from our space explorations. Mission findings from more than a quarter-century of spacecraft missions feature reports on Mars weather, climate, and areology. We compare the climate and terrain of Earth and Mars and present the current thinking about the areologic history of the planet and a rationale for future exploration.

Examine where on Earth we can prepare to live on Mars, what will be needed to get crewed missions there, and what the first landing may be like.