HUNTSVILLE – Though it’s just a few years old, the Intuitive Planetarium at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center has made an impact.
In a multiweek competition against other planetariums across the nation, the Intuit Planetarium was second in USA Today’s 10Best 2025 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Planetarium. The McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center won the popular vote.
Rocket Center CEO and Executive Director Dr. Kimberly Robinson was excited about the honor and recognition.
“We are thrilled to announce that our Intuitive Planetarium has been recognized as one of the top planetariums in the country,” she said. “This honor is a testament to the dedication and creativity of our exceptional planetarium team whose live, interactive shows bring our stunning facility to life. We are deeply grateful to everyone who cast their vote and helped up achieve this recognition.
“A special thanks to Intuitive Research and Technology for their ongoing support and sponsorship that makes all of this possible.”
The planetarium features an 8K dome and 248 seats with multiple shows each day, including state-of-the-art films about asteroids and the James Webb Telescope.
Visitors can also attend Cocktails and Cosmos events, in which stellar shows are accompanied by “cosmically created” cocktails.
The top 10 are:
- McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center
- Intuitive Planetarium
- COSI Planetarium in Columbus, Ohio
- Flandrau (S.D.) Science Center & Planetarium
- Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina
- Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia
- Adler Planetarium in Chicago
- Strasenburgh Planetarium at RMSC in Rochester, N.Y.
- Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City
- Faulkner Planetarium at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science in Twin Falls, Idaho
According to a USA Today news release, the planetariums in the competition were carefully curated by a panel of subject matter experts and USA Today 10Best editors before being voted on by the public.
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