A trip into outer space isn’t as far away as it may seem.

“We can take you to Saturn and drop you on the surface,” Joe Schulman said of the Tellus museum’s digital domed planetarium theatre show.

Opening in January 2009, the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum’s planetarium features four digital shows designed for youngsters.

Schulman, who works as the Tellus museum director of marketing, spoke and presented a slide show to Kiwanis members of Calhoun and fellow guest members of Cartersville about the many science exploration and educational opportunities for children and adults at the Cartersville-located science museum at Wednesday’s meeting.

“The Periodic Table of Elements is a great way to show adding and subtracting,” Schulman said, as he pointed to a picture of the museum’s Periodic Table of Elements exhibit.

The slide displayed an oversized exhibit — where there was a table containing the elements of the periodic table in color blocks, with textual samples of the element, and chemistry information detailing information about the uses.

He added that this year the museum will host more than 40,000 students from across the Southeastern region. These students will visit the museum by way of school-planned field trips.

The museum still has field trip space, but time slots are limited, he said.

Other educational opportunities for children include: a mineral gallery, fossil gallery, science in motion exhibits, and a science experiment area.

“We’re a Smithsonian affiliate, and it’s something we’re proud of,” said Schulman.

When ending his presentation, a Kiwanis member asked if the museum would receive any traveling exhibits from other Smithsonian affiliated museums; and, Schulman said that it’s possible, but they are looking for creative ways to make space for potential traveling exhibits.

According to Schulman, the one-story museum is 120,000 square feet and has seen more than 200,000 visitors from across Georgia since opening. The facility also features lectures and hosts other special events during the year.

To learn more about the museum, visit www.tellusmuseum.org or call 770-606-5700. The museum is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on major holidays.