OCC Planetarium Public Shows Calendar
Tuesday, December 2
One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure
5:00 pm
Explore the night sky with your favorite friends from Sesame Street in Big Bird's Adventure: One World, One Sky. Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo, and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take you on a journey of discovery to learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun, and the Moon.
Recommended ages: 3-6
5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI
6:00 pm
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is creating the most detailed map of our nearby universe. Installed on the Mayall telescope on Kitt Peak in Southern Arizona, DESI's 5000 independently operated robots can measure the light from thousands of galaxies at once. Join us as we explore the science, instruments, and people behind this global endeavor.
Recommended ages: 12 and up
Led Zeppelin - LAZERDOME
7:00 pm
Relive the magical sounds of Led Zeppelin while enjoying an immersive visual treat of custom laser imagery!
Get TicketsWednesday, December 3
Magic Tree House: Space Mission
4:00 pm
Travel with the brother-sister duo Jack and Annie in their Magic Treehouse as they learn about how scientists uncover the mysteries of the universe. With the help of a real astronomer, astronaut, and of course, a pile of books, Jack and Annie are take non a wondrous journey of adventure and learning to the edges of the universe.
Based on the popular book series by Mary Pope Osborne.
Recommended ages: 5-10
Get Tickets
We Are Aliens
5:00 pm
Are we alone in the universe? It's one of the oldest questions in astronomy, whether there is life elsewhere in the universe. In this presentation, join narrator Rupert Grint on an exploration of the possibility of life in our solar system and beyond. Learn how what we're discovering about life on our own planet is changing our perceptions regarding the search for life in the universe. From robotic explorers of the Red Planet to the realization that our galaxy is home to potentially millions of Earth-like worlds, this planetarium show will inspire and educate.
Recommended ages: 6 and up
Queen - LAZERDOME
6:00 pm
Come experience the groundbreaking music of Queen rendered in a spectacular laser light show!
Get TicketsSaturday, December 6
Birth of Planet Earth
1:00 pm
Scientists now believe that our galaxy is filled with solar systems, including up to a billion planets roughly the size of our own. The film employs advanced, data-driven, cinematic-quality visualizations to explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system’s violent birth? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?
Recommended ages: 8 and up
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Earth, Moon & Sun
2:00 pm
Earth, Moon & Sun is a fun and exciting full dome exploration of a huge range of heavenly phenomena. Lunar phases, eclipses, day and night, the sun and seasons are all explained with the help of a very confused and troublesome coyote, straight from Native American folklore. Through correcting Coyote's many misunderstandings, we can begin to unfold what's really going on in the sky.
Recommended ages: 6-12
Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter
3:00 pm
The mysteries of Dark Matter still elude scientists to this day, but through new ground breaking technologies and scientific determination we are slowly uncovering the vast hidden parts of our universe. With the help of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, one of the most ambitious engineering projects in human history, we are discovering new things about the universe every day.
Recommended ages: 12 and up
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Skywatchers LIVE!
4:00 pm
Join one of our planetarium experts on a live guided tour of the stories, sights, and other wonders in the night sky. The constellations, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies found overhead have been part of human consciousness for millennia, and today we have the knowledge and technology to explore all of them in great detail.
Stick around after the show for a live Q&A with our presenter! This show is updated almost weekly!
Recommended Ages: 10 and up
Get TicketsParking Fee
Parking on-campus is $5 for the day, 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. The fee can only be paid through the Passport Parking phone app or website and the parking permit is linked to your car's license plate number. We highly recommend parking in Lot E off of Merrimac Way (Google Maps "OCC Lot E").
Public Star Shows!
Public programs are a cornerstone of the Planetarium's mission. Regular showings are offered on weekends so anyone can come enjoy a rotating schedule of breathtaking full-dome experiences.
For all public shows, please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled show begins. There will be no late admittance due to safety concerns.
We advise against bringing children younger than 5 years old to planetarium programs. The planetarium theater gets very dark and the visuals can be alarming to young children. However, bringing young children for One World, One Sky Big Bird's Adventure is strongly encouraged!
All programs are approximately 45 minutes long.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
**The Planetarium adheres to a strict No Late Admittance policy. Once the doors have closed, the show is underway and must not be interrupted due to safety concerns.**
Skylark Speaker Series - Friday, December 5, 2025
Dr. Don Dixon, Vanderbilt
Advancing Stellar Activity and Binary Evolution Science with Rapidly Rotating Giant Stars
The rotational dependence of dynamo-powered stellar activity has been thoroughly investigated for main-sequence stars, but much less so for stars evolved onto the giant branch. In addition to being bigger and brighter, giant stars are generally observed to have negligible rotation rates compared to main-sequence stars and consequently tend to have comparatively weak dynamo action and global magnetic fields. This is generally expected due to angular momentum being carried away by stellar winds before ascending the red giant branch, but if a companion star orbits in close enough proximity, a red giant star can be spun up by tidal synchronization or mass accretion events. As a result, rotationally active giants are unique systems for furthering the understanding of evolved stellar activity and binary evolution processes that impart angular momentum for rotational spin-up. To characterize giant branch rotational activity, we derive an empirical rotation-activity relation using projected rotational velocities and excess near-ultraviolet emission produced by magnetic heating of the chromosphere. We find our relation is similar in structure to those fitted to main-sequence stars, which may suggest a similar dynamo mechanism. Additionally, we find that the most active giants have near-ultraviolet emission that exceeds expectations given their rotation rates and that they are all in synchronized binaries with orbital periods less than twenty days. Lastly, we find tentative evidence that giants approaching breakup rotational velocities are likely formed from planetary engulfment or stellar merger processes, both of which are still not well understood.
Beautifica
Beautifica is a 360 journey through worlds real and imagined, from mindblowing particle fields to unashamedly euphoric fantastic environments almost impossible to describe.
The brainchild of visionary composer James Hood working with some of the finest immersive animators on the planet, this family-friendly show is a feast for the senses, which will leave your spirit refreshed and your face grinning ear to ear.
Gift Certificates
Whether it's for an astronomy enthusiast, a curious mind, or someone eager to explore the mysteries of the cosmos, our gift certificates are a stellar choice. Grab yours now and let the journey into the stars begin!