"INTECH planetarium is a great thing for the area and the country"

Sir Patrick Moore  

During your visit, come and experience what we think is the best planetarium in the UK.

The enormous domed screen completely surrounds you, placing you right in the action. Relax back into your seat and get sucked into a black hole, fly through the solar system or even explore the human body. A fantastic shared experience that will have children reaching their hands up to touch the stars as they fly by.

We would like to thank SEEDA for funding the installation of this world-class facility and Astrium for generous sponsorship supporting its development and use.

What's showing?

Public shows run nearly every day of the year. We run both film shows and shows with live presenters, on a variety of topics. Find out more about the shows

Daytime shows: schedule for the next week (for long-term schedule see below)

Evening shows: during Adult Evenings (monthly) and Stargazing Nights (Nov/Jan). We also have short planetarium shows after each Space Lecture (monthly).

Standard daytime prices: after INTECH admission, it's just +£2.20 per show. Alternatively use the stand-alone £4.75 rate for shows that end at closing time.

Pre-booking available only for groups, birthday parties and evening events, unless otherwise advertised.

Find out more:

How does it work?

Planetarium technology has advanced beyond recognition in recent years. It's not just stars; now we can show full-screen video using our state-of-the-art digital projection system. Our cinema-grade surround sound system adds to the feeling of total immersion. There is simply nothing like it.

Schedule:

Check out the Showtimes page for the short-term detailed schedule. If planning further ahead, see below for how the schedule is likely to look.

Hampshire school holidays: 28 Jul 2011 - 2 Sept, 24-28 Oct, 19 Dec - 2 Jan 2012

School days:

Usually we run a public show at 2pm. Occasionally, there may be additional shows.

Rarely, a school day will have no scheduled shows. See the bottom of the Showtimes page for known future dates. These will be due to special/private events or to allow maintenance of the facility.

Weekends/holidays:

Shows run every day except over Christmas (24-26 Dec) when INTECH is closed.

Shows usually at: 10:40am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm & 3:30pm.

Occasionally, one or two showings may be replaced by other special events. We'll advertise such days as early as possible in the events calendar.
 

IMPORTANT: NO LATE ENTRY TO PLANETARIUM!
please be ready with your ticket at least 5 minutes before the advertised showtime
 

Prices & booking:

The planetarium is not included in the cost of your entry ticket to allow visitors the choice of whether to pay for this. Prices below are for non-group visitors in normal daytime showings.

INTECH visitors: after admission, it's just +£2.20 per person per show.

Planetarium-only tickets: £4.75, available only for shows that end at closing time. Check out the events calendar for special events that may also have single ticket prices.

Advance booking only available for birthday parties, schools & and registered groups.

We do not take individual advance bookings for the planetarium (except for some special events), because when the venue is busy enough for shows to sell out, the car park will also be near full and we have no way of ensuring parking spaces for those with booked tickets. We usually only sell out during Feb/Oct half-terms or rainy days during school holidays. The last show of the day is the least likely to sell out.

Children:

Children under 14yrs: must be accompanied by an adult.

Children under 5yrs: we don't recommend the planetarium for children under 5yrs due to darkness and powerful images/sounds. The experience can be rather overwhelming and sometimes frightening. However, we understand it can be difficult to split family groups so do not prevent entry for this reason. Please be aware that you will be asked to leave if your child is disruptive. You might like to come to one of our "Chatterbox Monday" shows where we allow chatting and calling out.

Children under 3yrs: free entry if you are happy for them to sit on your lap. However, please think hard before bringing such young children in as they will need to sit still and quietly through the show which is clearly not natural behaviour for most toddlers!

Accessibility:

Mobility

There are six spaces for wheelchair users at the back, giving great views of the screen. Mobility scooters can be driven straight in through the main entrance. Adjacent seats are available for family and friends, or for anyone else preferring same-level access.

The seating is raked, with wide and broad steps down to the front. Seats at the back of the planetarium sit almost upright, while those at the front lean back. They all have head-rests and flip-up seats. Some seats (not level access) have space for a single leg to be extended at an angle, please let us know when booking if you would like us to reserve one of these for you.

Planetarium seats are 51cm wide, constricted to 46.5cm by the arm-rests. We are also able to provide padded office chairs (40cm wide, no arm-rests) in the wheelchair spaces upon request.

Hearing

The planetarium has a hearing loop.

We regret that we don't provide written scripts for the shows as it would be too dark to read them inside the planetarium and torches would be very distracting for other audience members. 

Subtitled/BSL shows available on demand to groups and schools:

• Astronaut can be screened with summarised subtitles projected over the show
• Flight Through the Universe can be run as an adapted version with subtitles and/or BSL
• We can also accomodate (or arrange) sign-language interpreters on request: please ask when booking. 

Autism

We have a social story for autistic school visitors to INTECH, which includes images of the exhibition and planetarium, available for download here. You may also like to use our online planetarium tour to explore the space.

Epilepsy / other

The shows "Astronaut" and "We are Astronomers" have scenes containing flashing lights which may affect those with light-sensitive epilepsy. There is also a small amount of flashing in the show "Moles: what is up there?".

If you have a balance/neurological condition (eg vertigo, MS), please be warned that motion on the giant screen may make you feel disorientated and uncomfortable.

If you would like to see the theatre space in advance to orient yourself or others then this can be done online in our planetarium tour.

If there's any other information you would like to see in this section, please contact us.

The future:

 We are busy planning more events to cater for different audiences in the planetarium.

Although initially focusing on space themes, we are already extending our program to other subjects. The Astrium Planetarium is a fantastic resource for all of Hampshire and, as an immersive environment, can be used for music, theatre and many other events. It will also continue to be used as an auditorium for science shows and corporate events, as the seats can be adjusted to sit upright.

If you are interested in being involved with the planetarium, for instance by volunteering to help at events or being a guest speaker, please contact Jenny Shipway (Planetarium Manager).