The Department of Physics presented a tour of the night sky in a free planetarium show Friday and Saturday nights.

Professor Brett Ellman also presented “the latest and greatest” information on the universe, showing satellite pictures of planets and galaxies.

“It’s one of those things that helps you expand your mind and realize that you’re very, very tiny,” said Mitch Edwards, a sophomore double majoring in mathematics and computer science.

Richard Harrison, 44, of Stow, attended the show with his 8-year-old daughter. They’ve attended planetarium shows at Kent State in previous years.

“When an opportunity comes up to see something like this, and it’s free, I would definitely take it,” Harrison said. “It’s informative and it’s relaxing and you can hear everybody just ‘ooh’ when the stars first appear and it’s great.”

Edwards said he thought he’d see better pictures of the sun and some of the planets but that he was still impressed by the information presented.

The mythology behind the constellations stood out in the show, he said.

“You’re probably going to learn something new here,” Edwards said.

He said Ellman made the show exciting.

“He had me interested in it throughout and he knew what he was talking about,” Edwards said.

Harrison also liked Ellman as the host.

“He keeps it lively and interesting and he answers all of [my daughter’s] questions,” he said.

Hands-on demonstrations were available before and after the shows for people to explore.

Ellman said his favorite part of the show was interacting with the young kids in attendance.

“I think it’s a great resource for little kids,” he said.

Eight-year-old Elizabeth Harrison, of Stow, said she enjoyed the show.

“I want a planetarium,” she said.

Ellman said he aims to make the shows fun and relaxing while also being informative. He suggested it could make a good “date night” for students.

“I hope [people] enjoy it and I hope they get an appreciation for how beautiful the heavens are,” Ellman said.

Ellman will host another show Friday in Smith Hall Room 108 at 8 p.m. All shows are open to the public.

“Bring your children along and just relax and experience the mystery and learn a few things too,” Harrison said.

Contact Alyssa DeGeorge at [email protected].