Reviews of Stardome Observatory & Planetarium. (Other) in Auckland (Auckland).

Stardome Observatory & Planetarium

316 Reviews

184 Comments

Other

Planetarium

670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland 1345, New Zealand

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Description

Information of Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, Other in Auckland (Auckland)

Here you can see the location, open hours, popular times, contact, photos and real reviews done by the users.

This place has good reviews, this means that they treat their customers well and you’ll feel great with their services, recommended 100%!

Map

Open hours of Stardome Observatory & Planetarium

Sunday

9:30am–10:30pm

Monday

9:30am–5pm

Tuesday

9:30am–5pm, 6–10:30pm

Wednesday

9:30am–5pm, 6–10:30pm

Thursday

9:30am–5pm, 6–10:30pm

Friday

9:30am–5pm, 6–10:30pm

Saturday

9:30am–10:30pm

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Reviews of Stardome Observatory & Planetarium

Great way to escape the heat for am hour or so and really reasonable at about 25 bucks for both myself and my kid. Was a good show though perhaps a more defined script would have made a easier to understand for my kid who is ten. All in all a fun way to chill out and the actual show was cool. Fave new planet: Neptune

We visited with my daughter's school for a night show. The 3D movie was a fascinating way to learn about our solar system. My 4 year old son was glowing in excitement ✨ afterwards. Good displays inside the auditorium of rockets, spaceships, information about stars and the solar system. Got to see the moon through the telescopes 🔭

Great experience. Watched looking up with son, who enjoyed the show very much and the rocket launching was cool.

Had an amazing experience in 2018, the stardome programs have always been awe inspiring with their neat dome projections and narrator storytelling. It does get very crowded and hot inside so would be mindful before going for family or tourist endeavors. I would also recommend using fully immersive audio visual technology to leverage future programs as it would be a great attraction especially for kids.

Staff are really Helpful, friendly and kind. Toilets are Spotless clean😊 Worth to visit with kids specially the Age group 6 to 10. Lots of Good information for the space.

went there on 19/01/2022 for Our Night Sky show. Such an amazing eye-opening experience! Learned a lot! The presenter’s very knowledgeable! Also very humorous!

Very educational and humbling. Kids live it and there is a playground just next door. Staff are very knowledgeable ans passionate about what they do.

I would say must visit place especially school going kids, great knowledge about sky, stars and planets. Observing the starts and other planets another great experience and great level of knowledge kids as well as adults can get from the visit. Four star is because this place can be improved improving the outlook and other marketing techniques to attract people as well to increase the outlook of such great knowledge center.

I was here with a few friends for The Moon Milestone Show. The staff was very friendly and approachable. I must say, the narrator of the show nailed it! It was well narrated and we were loaded with lots of information about the Apollo 11 launch on the Moon. To finish this and as an icing, we also had a look at the stars, planets - Saturn and Jupiter, the Moon and few clusters in the sky through a Telescope! The experience was just too good! The staff here was very welcoming, friendly and was answering all our questions. Some displays based on the Apollo 11 launch themes were made with LEGO! :) I would highly recommend this place, especially this show and would return here for more! Cheers

Went to 1pm with grandchildren... pity the dog story was from an Australian point of view... thought something could have been a little more home grown.... The second half was better but perhaps a little more passion and enthusiasm from the narrator 'astronomer' may gave made the show a little more alive. My grandson had some questions thatthe Mc said he would be available for. .. but disappeared straight after the show...😕

A great place to learn about the stars and constellations. I’m not a fan but family is. The Auckland city council now has over $700 million debits and this place is part of the city council. Hence we’d paid $34 for a movie! Expensive but willing to support our city council and the underpaid workers.

This was great! I learnt so much, constellations,stars planets, everything was absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait to go back there again. I learnt that the bethelgeuse can explode into a super nova anytime and there are a lot of “lost astronauts” up there. Worth going for both Astronomy lovers or families with children.

From Japan:) It was good experience for me. I could see the southern cross for the first time. I was so lucky I could visit here when the sky was clear. Also, I could see a shooting star! Guides were kind and knowledgeable.

Watched the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon show 🌙🌚 My fave album so I loved it & sang right thru 😆

There are nice displays to learn about space science though it is not so big. My kid enjoyed seeing there.

Great place to take children, interactive, educational. Wish they had a solar system, that could be a great feature there..

Good experience for 7 years old to learn some basic knowledge of space through watching the movie. The launch of rocket was interesting.

Fantastic place for kids. They have overhead dome movie hall and shows the story of earth and how it evolved. They have many other stuffs for kids to play. Like astronaut dress, colour area etc. You can get annual membership card which is inexpensive and kids can enjoy a lot. 👍😇

Actually a really good night out. Tobias was an excellent presenter, making the event both humorous and informative. Since its a live show and based on the current sky, plenty of opportunities to go back for a different presentation. Definitely interested to go back in September!

I went to children's day with my baby girl, great place, an excellent experience, quite fascinating place, really enjoyed all.

Great show and explanations - very helpful to understand the night sky.

Half the interactive exhibits were out of order and the shop is pretty lacklustre. Stardome screen is pretty cool for the kids although not cheap for what it is.

Fabulous show on atm about Matariki (Pleiades, Subaru, 7 Sisters) Sharing our own stories regarding the stars and associated knowledge which is specific to our hemisphere and our seasons. Particularly impressed by the way that the educator unpacked and explained knowledge for all ages.

The show is good. But the receptionist is cold and not informative. I booked three tickets online and when I was there I asked some questions about another science experience show which is on the same day. She gave cold and not useful answers. You know what? I have to ask other two staffs to get a helpful answer. Not everyone knows how your dome work, ok? And you didn’t write specifically clear,ok?

Went to Pink Floyd show which was really good. Some of the lights were quite blinding as they were pointed directly at us but it didn't happen too often.

To the edge of known space was a really great show and we got to see 🪐 Saturn and the jewelery box through a telescope 🔭 very cool night out.

The Our Night Sky was amazing The speaker was very funny but also taught us heaps Sadly i forgot his name But also the staff that is in charge of the telescope viewings were super nice as well 100 percent recommend!

We bought tickets for the Stardome show on Mars. The visuals were great but the narrator lowered my rating, when running through the names of different celestial bodies he proclaimed that he wasn't allowed to say the Te Reo names in case he pronounced them wrong. He was as far as I could tell from New Zealand. Given that you are educating people on such a topic and the extensive history Maori people have with the night sky you'd think that you would be able to do the bare minimum and actually try. Do better.

Stardome provides excellent information on astronomy and is a very practical place for studying the stars. I loved the 3d theatre and it was very well produced. The exhibitions on display are very interactive and has a variety that is unmatched by anywhere else.

Amazing helpful staff! Went to a show which was meant for kids but it was still magical for us adults ❤️

The Stardome planetarium is where the stars and other celestial bodies are projected onto the dome-shaped ceiling of a purpose-built theatre. The presentation we attended was live and the presenter was clearly well-versed in the subject matter. While reclining in armchair comfort, the presenter delivered an informative 2-3 hour lecture (with an intermission) about our visible night sky. He used easy to understand language and a relaxed, sometimes humorous style. Adult entry is $15, but we attended a ‘Wine, cheese, and stars’ evening which was a little bit more. Either way I think it is great value for money for a fun and informative night out.

Another fantastic visit to Stardome with our 7 year old Grandson! He is very interested in the Solar System, the Planets and Stars! Staff were very helpful and the venue was great! We look forward to going again!

Loved this! We went to the night sky show and found the whole thing fascinating. The show ended with a chance to look through some telescopes. Awesome!

Wow what a great experience, took my 5 year old girl and 12 year old niece. Was very educational and Olive the host was funny and explained things clearly. We got a voucher to return for telescope viewing as was 40% cloud coverage.

Great experience! I definitely recommend it.

Great dome and story telling though I was a little disappointed with the presenters Māori pronunciation and unnecessary conversation fillers. Will return when the sky is clear to check out the telescopes.

Wonderful presentation. Loved the show.

It was better than I ever expected it to be! They have a great exhibition, showing stuff like meteors or pictures of the moon landing. There are also some fun experiments you can do so its definitely worth it to arrive a bit earlier. Even the toilets had fun space facts, all around a great set-up, you can really see that it was built with much love for the topic. The show was great as well, maybe a bit short for my liking. But because of this we had more time to ask questions, which the presenter answered perfectly. You could really see that he knew what he was talking about but still managed to explain it to everyone. Great job!

I went and watched the night sky show and it was incredible. Every part of the show was amazing from start to finish and I feel as though I know so much more from it. Highly recommend !

Cool one of a kind cinema experience. Kids really enjoyed the movie which was so informative. The rocket show outside afterwards was great!

Great fun for kids, with plenty of exhibits detailing space travel, lunar exploration, stars, planets, and the Maori New Year. The animated planetarium shows are great value and will entrance, entertain and educate the kids. In the evening, access the telescope for amazing views of the night sky. A fantastic place for all the family!

My kids and I absolutely loved the July holiday Dinosaur show & workshop after - tennis ball rockets, robot dinosaurs, fossil making, Lego space exhibits? All a huge hit. Great educational value - well done them. (AND great playground / park and One Tree Hill on doorstep :) We're going to be regular visitors for sure. We did phone ahead for seats. Their programme is vast - lots more shows we're going to go back for.

An excellent evening spent at Stardome Observatory but if you go there by bus at night be sure to take a torch. It’s not that well lit. The bus drivers did not know anything about the observatory either so nothing was easy and simple about getting to and from the observatory. The two shows we saw were excellent. The telescopes were set up and some very knowledgeable volunteers explained our view of Jupiter and The Southern Cross. I wish we’d got there earlier to spend more time on the displays before the show. Overall a fascinating evening and well worth the cost.

Pretty good experience overall. It pays to book in advance as the show maybe full or booked for something else when you choose to go. The receptionist was nice but gave the wrong information where he said there wasn't going to be a telescope viewing that evening even though the websites and the lady I made the booking through said there would be, and later on it was confirmed in the show that the viewing was indeed on. The foyer with all the displays should be a big bigger as it doesn't feel "long" enough while walking around.. The show itself was very impressive with all the visuals and info hoped for and the narrator a funny bloke who wasn't put off with some annoying kid heckling in the audience. In some evening sessions the show also comes with a free pass to view the telescopes outside on a clear day however when we went there were too many clouds but luckily they give out "rain check" cards to come back another day to do that for free which is a nice touch. Would highly recommend coming here with the kids.

The shows and the telescope viewing were fantastic! I was in awe the whole time, and the experience was exhilarating. The volunteeres and the host were very informative; their passion about the topic was evident with how they conducted the show. Booking is a must! I cannot highlight this enough!

Great experience. The stardome screen is above you and the chairs are slightly tilted back to allow for maximum immersion into the screening. The guide was very insightful and the audio and visual systems being used were of great quality. Highly recommend.

Absolutely brilliant show! Super informative yet concise! Really enjoyed it and an excellent science communicator! Really good value too!

The weekend evening presentation was wonderful. Very well narrated by a knowledgeable gentleman. The exhibits and gift shop are small, we didn't need more than 20 minutes to see that portion of the Stardome. I would visit again.

I went to watch the show "Summer Night sky" and that was rather interesting. The overall cleanliness of the place wasn't that great, and I don't know if it's because we went on a Sunday, but that's no excuse. There wasn't proper ventilation either so it became quite hot and just not that great. The levers to demonstrate certain things at the exhibition section wasn't working/ switched on, so I feel like we missed the whole "WOW" factor. Looking through the courtyard telescopes was a highlight, although the attentiveness and eagerness of the staff to provide us and the rest of the crowd with information was nonexistent. I'd definitely recommend going arriving a bit before your show and having a picnic outside the building on the huge grass section. Drinks are a bit expensive when you buy them there so perhaps buy some prior to. There aren't any snack from sale besides ice cream. The show itself was great. I'll be back from more, despite the other upsets.

Not enough parking space for everyone, was told I had to park across the field which isn't a massive walking distance but had to make two left turns to get there. In the light show, you can get a sore neck if you don't grab a seat near the back. A cool little novelty shop inside and the exhibitions on display are pretty cool and interactive. Definitely something you should check out in Auckland, they have different shows for different times of the year.

Lovely show, great seats. Almost went to sleep 😁 Just a bit pricey though, however, turned out okay. Will definitely be back with my rain check card.

What a great day this was! My son loved it and I learnt some things I had forgotten. A must if you have kids

Best place for planetary lessons and videos. For a student you can get in with $12 for a show about an hour and using the telescope. If the weather is not very good, they will give out free tickets for telescope on an another time. However, the surrounding area is pretty dark after nightfall.

A great place to rekindle that old flame... I came to StarDome after having been to my first marriage counseling session. I'll be honest... The mood was hard to guage (in the counseling session). But thankfully a nice trip to the DOME cleared any doubts I may have had in my mind. It really brought things into perspective of how small we really are. The cosmos are truly a pleasure to enjoy... Here's hoping for a brighter tomorrow! Toilets were a bit stinky.

I have been several times with mixed experiences. The quality hugely depends on who runs the show. And the main drawback in my opinion is that they spend too much time boring you with constellations instead of talking science. On the upside, the dome and the software that they use to project on it are cool. Staff always keen to talk to you.

An amazing place, great proogramme and excellent staff. I really appreciate how Stardome create an accessible guide to the stars. Thank you.

Love stargazing and the very informative shows available at times. Went for the Matariki Dawn show, unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to use the telescope but we were given rain checks to return at another time. Lovely experience I was excited like a kid. Would have given 5 stars if there are more expo / display or expansion of the expo area that'll be great

Took our three granddaughters 2x7yrs and 1x 10yrs to the four o'clock show. An excellent interactive show which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Great movie to see Auckland's night sky. My son loved it. We'll be back to watch other movies.

Fabulous school trip today. Need a warm cafe nearby with shaded area for school groups.. Please

We were lucky to get in as their had been a few cancellations. We looked at the web site first and it didn't advice to call ahead and book. Or say that certain shows had been booked, a feature I think the web site needs. Don't recommend if you suffer from virtgo. But a great show and the kids loved all the practical stuff after.

Amazing fun for the whole family! Informative and entertaining! We loved the Ngā Whetū O Matariki. All shows are sold out. Can't wait for next Matariki!

Pretty cool how you can see what the sky looks like outside from indoors and under a roof. You can also buy astronaut ice cream (freeze-dried ice cream), how cool is that?!

Awesome place, and great shows at night. The main piece of advice I can give is to ensure you're well rested before going if you are going to a late night show, as it is so tranquil and mesmerising it easy to fall asleep

It is quite a good observatory with lots of shows and things for kids to do, with clubs you can join as well. Good to come at night time and the guides will show you all the stars and planets.

An educational and fun evening out for the kids (and adults). The staff really sell science and you go away inspired. If you pick a good night for the telescope, the views of the moon surface are amazing!

Wonderful and informative shows and centre. We have been quite a few times and we learn something new every time. Well worth it and look forward to next time

Show was good. Instead of fake mars travel, should have shown some real events. I couldn't understand it was fake, people on mars travel

Great exhibitions for all ages and the prices are also quite reasonable too. It would be nice to see more dynamic events here similar to what you would see in San Diego for example to keep it interesting, but it's still a great place to visit every once in a while.

An absolute mind blowing experience! Us humans think we are all important here on our earth, but when you see the scale of the universe it really does put things into perspective of how microscopic we are. Go to a show and you'll know exactly what I'm taking about.

Very small and a little unloved, but the shop has some good stuff. The films are a bit hit-or-miss - some are scripted extremely badly, and others are brilliant. The discussions from the staff on the interesting things in the night sky at the moment are often the highlight.

Apart from the normal show in the planaterium, they also have live telescope experience in their Cort yard daily. After every planaterium show please visit to the Cort yard. Their staff waiting for you to explain the daily sky through telescope. Very nice experience for kids. But watch out the weather. You can also join your kids to their young astronomy society.

Enjoyed reading and finding out more about the universe and space. There is also a planetarium with regular shows and guided astronomy 'tours' on clear nights. Worth a visit even just for he free exhibition.

This is a great observatory. The location near the one tree hill domain ensures the quiet and open skies. Staff are very good. Shows are awesome. A must visit for astronomy enthusiasts and kids.

It's alright. Chairs are uncomfortable after a while. Would prefer those gold class movie chairs. It's quite informative and interesting to see but I've been to Kennedy Space Center in Florida and that obviously blows this experience away.

Small but very informative, interactive and educational resources. A good place for children with interests in space and Astronomy.

Amazing place, awesome shows in the dome, really friendly and knowledgeable staff! Great for a date night or for the kids 😊

Good show set for the younger ones being a early time spot (Matariki )

Spectacular! The shows help you find your inner curious self like you were as a child and feeds your soul on the wonders outside Earth.

A very well run Matariki presentation, lots of interesting facts and legends.

A great Auckland attraction for the kids in the school holidays. Picked up a GrabOne deal for the Look Up show which was extremely informative but probably a little too indepth for a 5 year old.

Enjoyed looking through the gallery. Friendly staff. Be sure to book your tix for the planetium before going. I walked two hours to get there and the show i intended to watch was booked out by the time i got there.

An awesome show, welk presented with an amusing script and intimate facility. Well worth the visit

Thoroughly enjoyed the show!!! Kids and adults all learned something. Plan to go back soon!

Great interactive shows as well viewing the stars through the big zeiss telescope. Knowledgeable presenters/hosts, Tobias and Tom as well as the guys in the telescope room.

Had a great time at Stellar Summer Days show. Took my 4 year old there. Show was great. Activities after were wonderful.

Absolutely fantastic. Would highly recommend the 8pm show. A great mixture of educational and entertaining.

Just visited with my daughters. We all just loved the place. Will see all the shows very shortly. Not worth missing any single one.

Totally worth it. Amazing show, and since it was a cloudy night, they gave us a rain check to come back! Great place for all ages

Wonderful experience, staff was helpful and great. The area this place is in is beautiful. The items in the shop are a little bit overpriced but manageable. Overall great visit. Will come again.

Great learning experience about stars and constellations. Just make sure you book before coming

I was here with 3 kids for Dinosaur at Dusk Show. Interesting the story, but quality of this film is very bad - blurry image no sharpness, faded colour.

A great little attraction for visitors to Auckland, the place itself isn't huge, but the cinema thingy is awesome... Make sure you get a seat at the back (not the front!)

Very good experience overall, you can learn quite a bit about the southern sky here. Though been small, it has everything you need for a good observatory in the city.

Love the new renovated facility.

Very fun affordable time, my 9 n 4 yr old mokopuna loved it. Finished with rocket launching.

Done the night show and was a great evening out. Learnt so much and was very enjoyable.

I have going there since my school years and it is amazing as it has evolved.New technology has made the stargazing and displays fantastic to watch and learn from.

Love this place. Went to see the music light show. Fantastic. The staff are friendly but it pays to call ahead and book first.

Definitely 5+ stars to Stardome! They GENEROUSLY supported our big school event which made a huge difference on the day! Highly Recommend!!!!!!!!

Went to the 'we are stars'presentation. Incredibly, pleasantly surprised by how informative and entertaining it was!

Excellent presentation on Matariki.shame about the cloudy skies but at least it wasnt raining and not too cold.

Took in a night sky session in the planetarium. Awesome!

Such a great way to enjoy amazing audio visuals with a professional well presented experience

Great show as always, partially accessible for wheelchairs.

Always a pleasure

One of the best things for kids to enjoy.. The mystery of the galaxies unfolds

Great place to take the little ones. Adults will be surprised to know there's always something new to learn as well!

cool place but lots of kids very loud

Though 30 years gone...it was still a great place. The observatory crew were just awesome

Very nice place, suitable for children

Interesting place to learn more about stars for little ones

Cool little observatory with a small, free museum. Lots of fun for stargazers and wanna be astronauts.

Really interesting and engaging for all ages

Cool place for kids and their tall persons😉

Very good place for the whole family to enjoy the starts and the galaxy show.

Was a great experience. Suitable for kids and adults.

Great experience good for kids. Very inexpensive

Went to the matariki show, was great fun and educational

Fantastic experience. Kids loved it ❤.

iconic place luv her

A great place to start stargazing career.....may need more multimedia display, the items in the shop a every expensive!

Great location for functions but could've a nice dance floor

A little dated but well worth a visit

Can get bit busy on weekends in summer, hard to find parking. But definitely worth it.

Fantastic show for the family ,thanks again

Good place to hang out and spend time.

Great host, very informative and witty

Absolutely spectacular show for Matariki❤

We always went here for school trips it was a fun experience

Amazing but wanted to explore with telescope

Nice little place with massive open space around, lots of greenery.

Never tire of going to this place, just gets better and better, well worth a visit

Awesome place to visit. Recommended for stargazers.

good site

Nice to have a facility that focuses on Astronomy close by to where I live

A delightful place in One Tree Hill ... the kids loved this

Had lots of fun times here as a kid

Great experience, took advice and booked ahead

Team Training

Pink floyd ... awesome

Great for cosmos knowledge !!

Great place with some great experiences

lovely place for the kids to visit!

Just an amazing trip trough the sky, stars and time

Excellent shows on planets, worth going to

Ok, not amazing, not bad

cool space stuff

A great family experience.

Love it in every way.

Nice place

Not bad, Not bad at all.

Wonder land for family with kids.

loved the place

Great Experiance, Kids loved it

Educational visit, love it!

Education and entertainment combined

Got boring over the years

The best place everrrr jk

Awesome shows

enjoyed it

A cool place!

Awesome

this place is amazoing !

(Translated) I went here with 4 kids. Two of them were very interested in astronomy. Our show started at 8pm. It last for an hour, explanation was fun and educational kids loved it. After the show, if the weather is ok they set up telescopes to look at the moon and stars. It is not expensive-50dallars for a family. If you have kids interested in stars, space you should visit here. It explains the universe and stars very well. When I go out with my family, the children are very funny. Adults can get bored ... After the show, I installed a telescope to see the moon and the stars. (Original) I went here with 4 kids. Two of them were very interested in astronomy. Our show started at 8pm. It last for an hour, explanation was fun and educational kids loved it. After the show, if the weather is ok they set up telescopes to look at the moon and stars. It is not expensive - 50dallars for a family. If you have kids interested in stars, space you should visit here. 우주,별에 관해서 매우 자세히 잘 설명을 해주고 있어요. 가족들이랑 놀러가면 아이들은 매우 재미 있어해요. 어른들은 쫌 심심할수도... 쇼가 마치고 나면 망원경 설치해서 달이랑 별들 구경시켜주는데 이것도 상당히 재미 나요

(Translated) The child was very happy. (Original) 子供は大変喜んでいました。

お.

(Translated) A space suit was on display. The planetarium is all English, but it was an interesting experience to get a sense of the Southern Hemisphere. (Original) 宇宙服が展示されていた。プラネタリウムも全部英語だが、南半球の感覚を知られるのは興味深い経験だった。