Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is committed to equity of access to its programs and has established scholarship programs to assist eligible schools with admission and other field trip costs.
The Jupiter Ball Scholarship Program
About
Using proceeds from Morehead's annual fundraiser, The Jupiter Ball Scholarship Program provides field trip and outreach scholarships to schools that meet certain deadlines and criteria.
Scholarships covering the cost of admission and a transportation stipend ($150 for every 40 students) are awarded to schools that are in the 76th percentile and above for free and reduced lunches.
For visits from outreach programs, the scholarship will cover the standard travel fee of $200 for one day of outreach program visits to a school. This scholarship amount will be awarded even if your school falls within 90 miles of Chapel Hill and would not normally be charged the full travel fee.
Eligibility
Morehead uses data from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to make determinations regarding free and reduced lunch eligibility. Please see the latest source for "Free and Reduced Meals Application Data" for your school at the NC DPI web-page here. In the excel sheet available for download, your free and reduced lunch enrollment is indicated by the %EDS column. If your reported %EDS is "Between 75% and 80%" or better, your school is eligible for the Jupiter Ball Scholarship.
Programming
Morehead offers exciting fulldome planetarium shows, Discovery Classes, Science LIVE! demonstrations and exhibits that will capture your students’ imaginations and illustrate key science concepts.
Application
Go to our Field Trips page, and fill out a reservation request form. In the form, choose "yes" when asked if you would like to apply to a scholarship, and answer the questions about your free/reduced lunch percentage. When our reservations staff reviews your request, they will also evaluate your school for scholarship eligibility and inform you of any award when they reach out with information about your booking.
If you've already filled out a request, please email mpsc_reservations@unc.edu and ask about applying for a scholarship to your school.
If you are interested in receiving a scholarship visit from one of Morehead's Outreach and Engagement programs, please click on the name of your preferred program and find a link to request a visit on the landing pages: enrichment visit, mobile planetarium or mobile labs. When requesting your outreach program, indicate "yes" when asked if you wish to be considered for a scholarship, and indicate your free/reduced lunch %. Please request an Outreach and Engagement program visit by September of the current school year to receive full consideration. Forms submitted after September will be considered only if spaces remain.
Region-specific scholarship programs
About
Morehead donors have established scholarships that benefit specific schools and school districts. See below for a list of counties or regions that have eligible scholarships.
Programming
Morehead offers exciting fulldome planetarium shows, Discovery Classes, Science LIVE! demonstrations and exhibits that will capture your students’ imaginations and illustrate key science concepts.
Application
Go to our Field Trips page, and fill out a reservation request form. In the form, choose "yes" when asked if you would like to apply to a scholarship, and answer the questions about your free/reduced lunch percentage (if your region specific scholarship is unavailable, you may still be eligible for a Jupiter Ball scholarship!). When our reservations staff reviews your request, they will also evaluate your school for scholarship eligibility and inform you of any award when they reach out with information about your booking.
If you've already filled out a request, please email mpsc_reservations@unc.edu and ask about applying for a scholarship to your school.
If you are interested in receiving a visit from one of Morehead's Outreach and Engagement programs, please check the list below to see if your county or region offers scholarships for Outreach visits. If so, click on the name of your preferred program and find a link to request a visit on the landing pages: enrichment visit, mobile planetarium or mobile labs. When requesting your outreach program, indicate "yes" when asked if you wish to be considered for a scholarship, and indicate your free/reduced lunch %. Please request an Outreach and Engagement program visit by September of the current school year to receive full consideration. Forms submitted after September will be considered only if spaces remain.