Navajo Skies

Navajo Skies plays at the Kendall Planetarium on Monday, October 12, at 2:30 PM. It's a 30-minute star show that weaves authentic Navajo astronomy stories told in both Navajo and English, set to traditional Navajo songs and Native American flute music. The stories are the main feature, and they're presented in both languages, so you'll hear the original Navajo alongside the English translation.

The show runs in the Harry C. Kendall Planetarium, a 200-seat, 52-foot domed theater inside OMSI's Space Science Hall. It's one of the most technologically advanced planetariums in the Pacific Northwest, running on Sky-Skan's DigitalSky Dark Matter simulation system with JVC Reference Series projectors. Those projectors have an ultra-deep 160,000:1 contrast ratio and 2,000 lumens each, paired with a Definiti full-dome projection and sound system. The theater also has a laser show installation powered by six Rainbow FX laser projectors, though the Navajo Skies show focuses on the stories and music.

If you're hanging around OMSI for the afternoon, there's more to see. The planetarium also hosts live-narrated star gazing and nighttime laser shows set to popular music. Outside, on the museum grounds, you'll find the partially submerged USS Blueback, a Barbel-class submarine that served in the U.S. Navy from 1959 to 1990. Between the star show and the submarine, you can easily make a whole afternoon of it.

Navajo Skies is at the Kendall Planetarium, inside OMSI at 1945 SE Water Ave in Portland, on Monday, October 12, at 2:30 PM. The show lasts 30 minutes.