Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

Carolina Skies
2025-11-29 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-11-30 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-06 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-07 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-13 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-14 16:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York)

Solar System Odyssey
2025-11-30 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-12-07 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-12-14 13:30 - 14:30

The Longest Night: A Winter's Tale
2025-11-30 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-06 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-12-07 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-13 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-12-14 15:00 - 16:00

Carolina Science Cafe: What’s Going on with U.S. Childbearing?
2025-12-02 18:00 - 19:00 | Haw River Tap & Table, 300 E Main St C, Carrboro, NC, 27510, United States
What’s Going on with U.S. Childbearing? And Should We Be Worried?

As birth rates in the U.S. and elsewhere have declined since the Great Recession, there has been considerable concern among pundits and policy makers over the causes and consequences of low fertility. This concern has prompted a range of efforts to raise U.S. birth rates. In this talk, Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo will give an overview of childbearing trends in the U.S., discuss why people are delaying or limiting childbearing, and provide insights into the demographic, economic, and policy impacts of low birth rates. She will round out her talk by highlighting the current policies and efforts to raise birth rates in the U.S. and what they will – and will not – achieve.

Designed for adults, Carolina Science Cafe is a free program that explores science topics making national and international headlines and offers the chance to meet the experts behind the work. This special program is hosted at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro on the first Tuesday of every month. Light appetizers are available for all attendees.

About the Speaker

Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo is a family demographer and sociologist, and she serves as Director of the Carolina Population Center. She is also a Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Guzzo’s research has been funded by multiple grants from the NICHD Population Dynamics Branch (PDB), the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dr. Benjamin Guzzo’s research has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Newsweek, and she frequently appears as an expert on U.S. childbearing behaviors and decision-making in national media outlets. She is a member of the Population Association of America’s Board of Directors and chair of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Sociology of Population section. She has served as a Deputy Editor for Demography since 2017 and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Marriage and Family, Family Transitions, and Journal of Family Theory and Review.

View Dr. Guzzo’s Work

Carolina Science Cafe is produced by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and sponsored by the UNC Chapter of Sigma Xi.

You do not need to register…just show up!

Supermassive Black Holes
2025-12-05 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-06 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-12-12 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-19 15:00 - 16:00

One Sky, Many Eyes
2025-12-05 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-12 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-19 16:30 - 17:30

Magic Tree House Space Mission
2025-12-06 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-12-13 10:30 - 11:30

Messengers of Time & Space
2025-12-06 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-13 15:00 - 16:00

Star Families: Meteors and Other Night-Sky Wonders
2025-12-13 12:00 - 13:00

Skywatching at Stagville — Geminid Meteor Shower
2025-12-13 20:00 - 22:00 | Horton Grove – Historic Stagville State Historic Site, 5925 Jock Road, Bahama, North Carolina, 27503, United States
Join staff and volunteers from Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS), and Historic Stagville for the peak night of the Geminid meteor shower!

To view meteors, all you need are your eyes. However, we’ll offer telescopes for you to catch Saturn, Jupiter, and other celestial sights. Please note that this event is weather-dependent. In the event of a cancellation, we will provide updates on our website and social media.

To attend and receive updates about this free event, please register using the link below. We hope to see you there!

Register

Know Before You Go

This outdoor event will take place in the open field at the Horton Grove entrance of Historic Stagville State Historic Site. Due to the high volume of people and limited parking, please carpool if possible.

This is an informal session, so you can arrive and leave at any time during the program. However, if you plan to attend, we suggest bringing a blanket or chairs and some snacks so you can relax under the stars.

We ask that you leave all pets at home, even those on a leash. Darkness, lots of people, expensive telescopes, and pets are a bad combination. Pets will not be permitted near the telescopes.

Have more questions about skywatching? Visit our FAQs page!

Skywatching FAQs

Starry Nights: Winter Skies
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:30

Teen Science Cafe: Neuronal Resilience
2025-12-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, 250 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, United States
Neuronal Resilience with Dr. Mohanish Deshmukh

Please join us at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center for December’s Teen Science Cafe! This month, we welcome Dr. Mohanish Deshmukh, Ph.D, who will be sharing his work on how different types of cells control apoptosis (regulated cell death) and how this relates to the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Open to teens ages 13-18, our monthly cafes include exciting activities, engaging talks from expert speakers, and even free food! Plus, we cover a variety of different topics, ranging from cell biology to deep space galaxies, making it a one-of-a-kind spot for high school students to explore new ideas, interact with each other, and have fun!Doors will open at 6:00 pm for pizza and conversation. The cafe will start at 6:30 pm and wrap up around 7:30 pm.

Learn more about Teen Science Cafe

About Dr. Deshmukh

Mohanish Deshmukh, Ph.D. is a William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology and the Neuroscience Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Mohanish received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, conducted his postdoctoral research at Washington University and joined UNC as an Assistant Professor in 2000.

Mohanish’s lab studies the programmed mechanisms by which neurons survive and die. His lab also focuses on understanding neurodevelopmental disorders as well as developing therapeutic strategies for preventing neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Mohanish received the Burroughs-Wellcome New Investigator Award in 2001. At UNC, Mohanish was recognized with the Teaching Excellence Award (2004) and the Mentor of the Year Award (2012). He is currently the Co-Director of the UNC MD/PhD program. His lab’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Program Schedule

6:00 pm: Arrive and check in. We will gather inside the west, main entrance of Morehead.

6:00 – 6:30 pm: Pizza social. The pizza social will take place in our classrooms, located on the 2nd floor.

6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Discussion & activities. Trivia will take place in the Science Stage.

Please Note: Depending on scheduled activities, the program may end between 7:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
