We are gratified that our series of informative and entertaining shows for the general public have proven popular. In 2014 with a 2016 upgrade, we installed a spheric-mirror digital projection system to enable a whole new layer of flexibility in the star theater, including the capability to show fulldome movies. Our dome was painted a friendly gray color in 2019 to reduce light echoes and improve contrast.
Funds from ticket sales maintain and improve our surround sound and full dome visual systems and guarantee an offering of even more spectacular public events in the future. The WSU Foundation will be happy to assist you if you wish to accelerate the upgrades with a financial gift (donate to “gf007726 – Planetarium and Observatory Support Fund”).
Our offerings:
- Day time school / children’s groups ($0), scheduled by gworthey@wsu.edu.
- Evening public shows ($5. No advanced ticket sales: door only.)
- Corporate facility rental: scheduled by gworthey@wsu.edu.
Directions and parking
Directions from Stadium & Main: Turn up Stadium, immediate left at Nevada, immediate left at Washington, turn right on Spokane Street and go 2.5 blocks. Sloan Hall is on your left, but if you are parking, turn left or right on College Ave to seek parking.
For walkers coming from campus, the pedestrian bridge is the most convenient entry; come across the bridge, come in the building, then turn right. Twenty paces later, just past the staircase double doors, turn left and head down the hall to Sloan 231. There are placards pointing the way, but they are unobtrusive.
If you come in the main Sloan Hall entrance, the one with all the signage and lots of glass, you are a level below the pedestrian bridge and the planetarium. Take an immediate left, then enter the staircase with the double doors on your left. Go up one floor. The planetarium is down the hall.
- Parking near the planetarium is “Green 3” zone.
- Parking on weekends and after 5 p.m. is free.
- Buses: During business hours, parking for buses is free on Flag Lane.
- Cars: During business hours, use the AMP parking app for hourly parking, available from WSU Parking Services.
Now showing
Cycle / The Incredible Sun
7pm, Friday, May 15 and 5pm, Sunday, May 17.
A docent will point out night sky highlights and upcoming astronomical events. This is followed by a fulldome video presentation.
“Cycle” was initially test footage taken to explore how a 360-degree camera could be formatted to fit a planetarium dome, but turned into a mesmerizing exploration of time-lapse photography and how the simple act of accelerating the passage of time reveals hidden rhythms in Nature.
“The Incredible Sun” features amazing multiwavelength footage taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
[No shows 5/22 or 5/24]
Rock the Rocks
7pm, Friday, May 29 and 5pm, Sunday, May 31.
You might want to bring ear protection for this one. There is no sky tour in the first half of the show. Instead, we take actual planet imagery and fly through it, accompanied by loud music written between 1970 and 2020. It’s sort of like Fantasia, but with science instead of Mickey Mouse.
Amateur Astronomy
7pm, Friday, June 5 and 5pm, Sunday, June 7.
A docent will point out night sky highlights and upcoming astronomical events. This is followed by three short fulldome video presentations.
“Losing the Dark,” “Astrophotographer of the Year, 2015,” and “Two Small Pieces of Glass” all highlight aspects of one of the most challenging (but rewarding!) hobbies of all: amateur astronomy.
Supermassive Black Holes
7pm Friday, June 12 -and- 5pm, Sunday, June 14
A docent will point out night sky highlights and upcoming astronomical events. This is followed by a fulldome video presentation.
Explore the enigmatic powerhouses we call supermassive black holes. As far as we know, almost every large galaxy has such a monster lurking near its center, often set ablaze by infalling matter to spew forth X-rays and high energy particles.
Forward to the Moon
7pm, Friday, June 19 and 5pm, Sunday, June 21.
A docent will point out night sky highlights and upcoming astronomical events. This is followed by a fulldome video presentation.
Forward to the Moon gives a summary of the Artemis/Orion goals and plans. Come on over to the planetarium for an Artemis update. Artemis II was a success, and Artemis III is scheduled for launch later this year.
Observers of the Universe: Mayan Archeoastronomy
7pm, Friday, June 26 and 5pm, Sunday, June 28.
A docent will point out night sky highlights and upcoming astronomical events. The docent will also introduce the basics of Mayan culture and seasonal sun-watching before showing a fulldome video presentation.
“Mayan Archeoastronomy: Observers of the Universe” explores the mythological and practical aspects of Mayan astronomy near the zenith of their civilization, circa 500 CE. One clear conclusion is that myth and reality blended together. For example, to look upon the moon was to look upon the face of Ixchel. But their advanced mathematics (base-20 numbering system) and timekeeping (their largest unit of time was the Hablatun: approximately 461 billion days) had no equal the world over.