Ruth Patrick Science Education Center

The Science Store

The Science Store is open during public shows at the DuPont Planetarium. The store is also open for visiting groups. Please call 803-641-3313 to make arrangements to visit the store.

The Science Store specializes in unusual, hands-on science materials, toys, models, kits, and collectibles not typically found in larger chain stores. This is a child-friendly, “please touch” kind of store, with merchandise similar to that in museum gift shops. The Science Store carries puzzles, games, t-shirts, posters, puppets, reference materials, and educational books, which make great gifts or classroom teaching aids. This is a terrific resource for teachers and parents looking for unique items that make science come alive in the hands of a child.

Fredericks Mineral Gallery

The Fredericks Mineral Gallery at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center was established in 2015 by Dr. Carol M. Jantzen in honor of her parents, Theodore ‘Ted’ and Clara Fredericks. Rock collecting was a hobby of Ted’s that grew to a business that provided rock and mineral kits used in middle and high school classrooms across the USA. Through the years, Ted and Carol collect many museum-quality rock and mineral specimens. Carol’s goal was to pass her love for science and nature to the children of the Central Savannah River Area through the Fredericks Mineral Gallery.

The main features of the Fredericks Mineral Gallery include:

• 250-lb Feldspar crystal from New Hampshire, one of the largest in the world
• Fossilized raptor egg from Mongolia, one of only 6 in the U.S.A
• Dinosaur leg bone from Dinosaur, Colorado
• Magnetite crystal from Canada, the largest in the world
• Meteorite from Campo del Cielo (Field of Heaven or Field of the Sky) from Argentina
• Themed Display cases presenting various rocks and minerals

Digistar 6 Planetarium

The DuPont Planetarium exists to inspire others to explore the majesty of the heavens. Visitors age four and up attend public shows presented every Saturday. We encourage our visitors to reserve seats in advance. If you make a reservation, please arrive no later than 20 minutes before the show starts. All unclaimed reservations will be released 10 minutes prior to the show.

The DuPont Planetarium, housed in the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center at the University of South Carolina Aiken, has 57 seats, a 30-foot-diameter tilted aluminum dome by Astro-Tec, and a Digistar 6 planetarium projection system from Evans & Sutherland.

The DuPont Planetarium opened in September 1995 with a Digistar II system and Spice automation system by Sky-Skan. The planetarium conducts K-12 school programs, general-interest level programs for the public, specialized programs for university classes, and private shows for parties and other events.

While most DuPont Planetarium programs focus on astronomy and encourage exploration of the night sky, some shows focus on history and other science areas. All shows involve an enthusiastic presenter eager to share the majesty of the heavens with visitors. Digistar Special Effects shows entertain by using the power of the Digistar 6 system to create shapes that dance across the dome to lively music.

Observatory

The RPSEC Observatory (on the roof of the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center) is open after public shows on Saturday evenings, weather permitting. The Bechtel Telescope housed in the RPSEC Observatory provides views of planets, nebulae, and other celestial objects.