Planetarium Shows

Recommended: ages 9 and below accompanied by an adult

Cost: VLM members free, non-members $4 plus Museum admission.

The stalwart heroes of The Zula Patrol are on an expedition collecting samples of weather for Multo’s research – using their loyal pet Gorga’s ability to collect and bottle all kinds of weather. When one member of The Zula Patrol inadvertently hurts Gorga’s feelings, he decides to leave Zula and find a planet in the Solar System on which to live. Interplanetary villain Dark Truder, along with his talking toupee, Traxie, takes advantage of the situation to trick Gorga into helping him take the weather from the Solar System planets – part of this latest nefarious scheme to rule the Universe (and find the legendary Kaboobie Ruby). The Zula Patrol discovers Dark Truder’s plan and goes after him – discovering all about weather in the process, both terrestrial and interplanetary.

Explore the evening skies above Virginia in this classic planetarium presentation. A staff astronomer will discuss seasonal constellations as well as any planets visible. Additional topics may be explored depending on celestial happenings around the time of your visit.

Cosmic Colors will take you on a wondrous journey across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Discover the many reasons for color—like why the sky is blue and why Mars is red. Take a tour within a plant leaf and journey inside the human eye. Investigate x-rays by voyaging to a monstrous black hole and then back at your doctor’s office. You will even see the actual color of a dinosaur–based on recent evidence. Get ready for an amazing adventure under a rainbow of cosmic light!

The exploration of space is the greatest endeavor that humankind has ever undertaken. What does it take to be part of this incredible journey? What does it take to become an astronaut?

Astronaut, the latest immersive planetarium show to be created by the National Space Center, takes you from Earth into space… and beyond.

Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Discover the perils that lurk in space as we subject ‘Chad’, our test astronaut, to everything that space has to throw at him.

Presented in stunning high definition 360 degree Full dome video and explosive surround sound, Astronaut is an experience like nothing on Earth.

Kari Byron from Crash Test World and MythBusters launches us on a journey beyond the Earth towards a sustainable future in space. NASA’s 21st century Artemis program, named after the Greek moon Goddess and twin of Apollo, is the next step in our mission to explore the universe and land the first woman and person of color on the surface of the Moon.

Let’s have some reptilian fun! Join us for a game show gone crazy as we learn about reptiles and amphibians and search for them in the starry skies above us. You might even win a prize!

Discover the danger faced by amphibians and how you can help save them in this multimedia planetarium presentation.

“Solar System Odyssey” is a character-driven adventure set in the future, in a time when humans have depleted the resources of their home planet. A business tycoon recruits our hero, Jack Larson, on a mission to discover a new home for humans to colonize. The journey takes Jack, an important stowaway, and you on an exciting exploration of our cosmic neighborhood, including the icy rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s volcano-ridden moon Io and the sub-zero methane lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan. Can humans find another place to settle before the Earth becomes unlivable? And what will happen to our home planet?  Find out in this wild solar system adventure!