Physical Sciences Outreach Officer writes new planetarium show narrated by Lupita Nyong'o

We are delighted to announce that our Outreach and Public Engagement Officer, Dr Natalie Starkey, has just completed a year-long project writing the script for the new planetarium space show at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. Natalie left her scientific research career in 2015 to become a full-time writer and science communicator. She was invited to write the new planetarium show entitled, 'Worlds Beyond Earth', after the production team at the AMNH read her first popular science book, 'Catching Stardust: Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System', which they found to be accessible and written for the audience they hope to attract to the museum.

Natalie says: 'I was absolutely delighted to be offered the scriptwriter role and the whole experience of putting together the show was fascinating. I was working with an amazing team of producers, directors, scientists and visual artists who all have so much experience, some of them having worked on all five previous space shows over the last 20 years.'

The show utilises the full dome experience at the Hayden Planetarium, which also has the most advanced projection system of any planetarium in the world. It is narrated by Academy Award Winner Lupita Nyong'o and takes viewers on an immersive visual experience to distant worlds, showing groundbreaking space missions, and breathtaking scenes depicting the evolution of our solar system, 

Natalie attended the press launch and premiere of the show at the start of January in New York, which she was delighted to take her three-year-old daughter to who gave it a big thumbs up, hopefully proving that the show is perfect for a family audience. For a review of the show click the link here for the New York Times and Space.com. The show opened to the public in New York on January 21st 2020.