Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium

10/22/2026

🚀 ONE DAY ONLY: ALIEN SAFARI! 👽✨

Prepare for an out-of-this-world adventure at the Reichert Planetarium!

🗓️ Sunday, October 25
⏰ 2:00 PM

For one day only, step aboard the legendary U.S.S. Planetarium for Alien Safari—an immersive, live interactive experience that takes you on a thrilling mission to discover alien life!

🌌 Explore strange new worlds
🔭 Uncover the building blocks of life
🛸 Journey to the farthest reaches of the galaxy

Become an astrobiologist, join the crew, and explore the mysteries of the cosmos in this exciting, family-friendly adventure led by our expert astronomy educators.

🎟️ Ticket Prices
Adults: $22
Seniors & Students: $18
Children (ages 2+): $16

⭐ Recommended for ages 8+

Seats are limited, and this cosmic adventure is happening for ONE DAY ONLY!

🎫 Purchase your tickets now and prepare for liftoff!
https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/alien-safari-3/

10/20/2026

☄️ Look Up! The Orionid Meteor Shower Is Here!

The Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight October 21–22!

Each October, Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by the famous Halley’s Comet. As these tiny particles enter our atmosphere, they create brilliant streaks of light across the night sky!
When should you watch?

The best viewing is generally during the early morning hours before dawn, when the constellation Orion is high in the sky.

Under ideal dark skies, the Orionids can produce approximately 10–20 meteors per hour, although moonlight and light pollution may reduce visibility.
No telescope needed! Just find a dark location, dress warmly, and give your eyes time to adjust.

And here’s a fascinating fact: Halley’s Comet won’t return to our skies until 2061, but we get to enjoy its debris every October!

Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments!

Clear skies from the Vanderbilt Museum & Reichert Planetarium! ✨



Photo credit: makelessnoise / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) — creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

10/19/2026

On Thursday, November 12, John Lazzaro, a photographer and author, will give a lecture at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum on his book Sanatorium: Inside the Architectural Cure for Tuberculosis, that documents the contemporary vestiges of former tuberculosis hospitals in the United States.

Commemorating the visionary architecture that played a vital role in combating America’s first modern public health crisis, this thought-provoking photographic survey of over 25 sites throughout the country includes the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York, America’s first sanatorium; Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford, Connecticut, the first children’s heliotropic treatment hospital; Molly Stark Sanatorium, Ohio’s stunning Spanish Revival-styled tuberculosis hospital; and Sea View Hospital in Staten Island, the site of the pioneering antibiotic research for the cure for TB.

To Register & for more information:
https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/john-lazzaro-sanatorium-inside-the-architectural-cure-for-tuberculosis/

Sanatorium: Inside the Architectural Cure for Tuberculosis is the first book to document the contemporary vestiges of former tuberculosis hospitals in the United States.

10/16/2026

Brian O’Connor, a Northport author and historian, will give a lecture on Thursday, October 29, at 7:00 pm in the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Reichert Planetarium – John Sloss Hobart: Revolutionary Patriot and Statesman.

He will draw on his forthcoming book on John Sloss Hobart (1738-1805)—a Northport/Eaton’s Neck lawyer and historical figure who played a significant role in New York’s support of the Declaration of Independence. Hobart’s legacy remains deeply connected to Eaton’s Neck and Long Island’s Revolutionary history.

O’Connor is also the author of Death by Fire and Ice: The Steamboat Lexington Calamity (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2022), which recounts the tragic sinking of the Lexington in 1840 in Long Island Sound’s worst maritime disaster.

Tickets:
https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/brian-oconnor-lecture/

10/15/2026

Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Annual Benefit, A Salute to America 250, was a big success. The gala evening drew 160 people to the Celebration Tent overlooking Northport Bay on the perfect early-autumn evening of October 1.

We thank our generous sponsors and donors and all the Museum members and friends who joined us. The drinks were flowing, the music was playing, the food was delicious, and the guests danced, had fun, and won raffles. We are grateful to all who made this evening so special!

10/14/2026

THAT BRIGHT “STAR” IN THE EVENING SKY ISN’T A STAR! 🪐✨

It’s SATURN! And you can see it with your own eyes from right here on Long Island!

For the next several weeks, look toward the southeastern sky during the evening hours. That bright, steady point of light is actually an enormous planet nearly a billion miles away!

And those magnificent rings? They’re made of countless pieces of ice and rock, some as tiny as grains of sand and others as large as houses! You don’t need a telescope to spot Saturn, but you’ll need one to see its beautiful rings.

And here’s a question for Long Island: Have you ever seen Saturn’s rings through a telescope?

Tell us about it in the comments! We’d love to hear your experience.

Clear skies!
— Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum & Reichert Planetarium

Photo credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/A. Simon/M. Wong; processing: J. DePasquale

10/13/2026

Thankful Thursday is back!

On October 22, join us at 7:00 pm for a FREE, family-friendly planetarium show, the seasonal favorite Haunted Skies. Rgisration required.

After the show, we will open our observatory to the public, and an astronomy educator will invite you to look through a telescope at the night sky (weather permitting).

Register below for complimentary tickets:

https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/a-halloween-favorite-haunted-skies/
Funding for this series is generously provided by BAE Systems!

10/11/2026

A little piece of the Mediterranean, right here in New York Vanderbilt Museum Vanderbilt Weddings

10/09/2026

An inclusive experience for all!

Enjoy the collections and estate grounds without the crowds and experience the Reichert Planetarium’s gentle “Open Sky” program, sensory activities, and crafts.

The event is FREE, but registration is suggested.

Register Here:
https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/morning-at-the-museum/

10/08/2026

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and the Bald Eagles of Centerport will hold its annual Raptor Day on Saturday, November 7 – rain or shine in the Celebration Tent!

Two ticket times – 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Tickets will be $20 for non-members; $10 for members and kids 12 and under; and $5 for member kids. All tickets include general admission to the Museum.

Enjoy free raptor face painting for children, raffle prizes generously donated by local businesses, and an art auction featuring photographs donated by Bald Eagles of Centerport photographers.

The event will benefit WINORR (Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation) and the Museum.

A professional falconer will give a special presentation and demonstration featuring a live raptor. WINORR will also be on hand with unreleasable rescued raptors – bald eagle, falcon, golden eagle, owls, and hawks. All guests will have the opportunity to see these magnificent birds up close.

Tickets:
https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/raptor-day-meet-live-rescued-birds/