J. Watumull Planetarium
Hawaiʻi’s Gateway to the Stars
Join us in the J. Watumull Planetarium at Bishop Museum to connect with the environment and peoples of the Pacific region, the expanse of our universe, and the stories we pass on from generation to generation. Experience a show in our theater as an add-on experience to Bishop Museum’s daytime General Admission, as a standalone Special Evening Planetarium Show, or during various Programs and Events. All shows are ticketed; Tickets can be purchased upon arrival from the admissions desk at Shop Pacifica or online for special events. See below for currently scheduled showtimes.
Planetarium Showtimes
All planetarium tickets must be purchased in conjunction with general museum admission. Planetarium tickets are available for purchase on-site only.
Special Evening Planetarium Shows
Navigating by the Stars
3rd Wednesday of February, May, August, and November
2024 Winter Break Planetarium Show Schedule
Saturday, December 21, 2024–Tuesday, December 31, 2024
No daytime shows on Wednesdays
Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays
10:30 AM – 3-2-1 Liftoff!, 25 min
11:30 AM – Wayfinders: Waves, Winds and Stars, 45 min
1:30 PM – The Hawaiian Sky Tonight, 25 min
2:30 PM – Experience the Aurora, 45 min
3:30 PM – Ngā Tohunga Whakatere: The Navigators, 45 min
Wednesdays
Planetarium closed: No daytime public shows
Special Schedules
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Bishop Museum is closed, including Planetarium: No daytime public shows
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 through Friday, January 10, 2025
The planetarium theater and lobby will be closed for renovation. There will be no daytime public shows in the theater during this period.
Upcoming Planetarium Events
Daily Planetarium Shows Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Click here to get your tickets.
There is an additional $2.95 fee per person for each daytime Planetarium show.
Bishop Museum members continue to enjoy FREE admission to the daily Planetarium shows; members just need to pick up a Planetarium show ticket first at the Admission Desk.
Tickets are for a specific show and are available onsite from 9 a.m. on the day of the show.
About the J. Watumull Planetarium
Bishop Museum’s Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium opened its doors on December 12, 1961. Originally called the Kilolani Planetarium, the Watumull Planetarium has served over six million visitors and students over 60 years of continuous operation. The Planetarium was instrumental in the recovery of the nearly lost art and science of traditional, non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi. Nainoa Thompson spent countless hours in the Planetarium with Will Kyselka and other Planetarium staff in the late 1970s learning how to read the night sky. We are honored to continue that legacy by serving as a training space for today’s navigators.
Our GOTO Chronos II optical star projector provides one of the most vivid, realistic recreations of the night sky available today, with 8,500 pinpoint stars and realistic, bright planets. Our Digistar 4K full-dome video system covers the entire dome in immersive video, allowing us to fly through the rings of Saturn, into the depths of the Orion nebula, out to the edge of the universe, and even simulate a voyage across the Pacific.
The Planetarium has 64 seats and serves 70,000 people a year. The planetarium focuses on programs about Hawaiʻi, blending live and prerecorded elements within each program.
