“It’s as though you were locked in a room your whole life and then somebody opens a window.”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson

Do you remember your first telescope? Your first trip to a planetarium or observatory? Astrophysicist and Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey host Neil deGrasse Tyson does, and in this installment of NOVA’s Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers he shares his memories of seeing the Universe on the Hayden Planetarium’s big screens for the first time, and then receiving his own first telescope a couple of years later.

Obviously, they made quite the impression on young Neil.

“Saturn has rings! Oh my gosh the Moon has craters! Things you’ve heard about and read about, but to experience them yourself becomes a singular moment in your life. You are there in the Universe.”

Watch the video below:

So if you enjoy looking at the night sky through a telescope, or visiting planetariums, share it with a kid — of any age. You never know what adventure the experience will send them on.

Tyson has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium since May 1996.

See more videos from NOVA’s Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers here.