Ingram Planetarium’s show schedule changes seasonally, please review our calendar for information on upcoming programs. Private events and school groups on a field trip may choose any program from our library, or consult with planetarium staff to select the perfect show.
Admission to Sky Theater shows is FREE for Planetarium and Dual Museum/Planetarium members.Non-member per-show admission (includes NC sales tax): $9.50 adults (13-61), $8.50 seniors (62+), $7.50 children (3-12), and free for ages 2 and under.School group rates are available, please visit our School Group information page for more details.
For your safety, late arrivals will not be admitted to Sky Theater shows.
Accidental Astronauts
Trailer: The Accidental Astronauts: An Earth Sun Moon Adventure! from Clark Planetarium Productions on Vimeo.
- Topics: Introduction to the Earth, Sun, and Moon
- Duration: 30 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 3+, families, Grades 1-4
Full Description:
Robo-kids Cy, Annie, and their dog Armstrong get a lot more than they expected from their class field trip in an impromptu adventure. Travel along exploring the Sun, Earth, and Moon, with a witty starship computer as navigator and guide. Race along on the surface of the Moon! Collect an asteroid sample in low gravity! Survive a solar storm! Find a new appreciation for the unique beauty of Earth. Journey along with the Accidental Astronauts in this epic dome theater adventure.
Funding for this film was provided by The Town of Sunset Beach through its Accommodation Taxes.
Astronaut
- Topics: Astronaut training, human space exploration
- Duration: 23 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 9+, families, grades 3-9
Full Description:
The exploration of space is the greatest endeavor that humankind has ever undertaken. What does it take to become an astronaut? Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Discover the perils that lurk in space as we subject ‘Chad’, our test astronaut, to everything that space has to throw at him.
Dinosaur Passage to Pangaea
Dinosaur Passage to Pangaea – Trailer [640 x 480] from K2 Communications on Vimeo.
- Topics: Geology, Earth tectonics
- Duration: 37 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 8+, families, grades 4-7
Full Description:
When two children embark on a Geology Field Trip, they are thrown into a fantastic voyage where they witness incredible geological wonders and learn the mysterious process that shaped our present-day continents. From roaming the untamed prehistoric wilds to journeying to the center of the Earth, Dinosaur Passage to Pangaea is the perfect educational look at the tectonic forces that forged our world.
Dynamic Earth
- Topics: Earth Climate, Weather, Life on Earth
- Duration: 24 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 10+, families, grades 4+
Full Description:
Dynamic Earth explores the inner workings of Earth’s climate system. With visualizations based on satellite monitoring data and advanced supercomputer simulations, this cutting-edge production follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape our climate: the atmosphere, oceans, and the biosphere. Audiences will ride along on swirling ocean and wind currents, dive into the heart of a monster hurricane, come face-to-face with sharks and gigantic whales, and fly into roiling volcanoes.
Earth, Moon & Sun
- Topics: Earth, Moon, Sun, Native American Myths
- Duration: 35 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 3+, families, grades 1-5
Full Description:
Explore the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun with the help of Coyote, an amusing character adapted from Native American oral traditions. This fast-paced, family show investigates our home planet and how it interacts with our most familiar neighbors. Learn about lunar phases, eclipses and other phenomena we see in our skies to better understand how the Earth, Moon, and Sun work together as a system. Native American stories are used throughout the show to help explain various concepts.
Funding for this film was provided by The Town of Sunset Beach through its Accommodation Taxes.
From Earth to the Universe
- Topics: General Astronomy, Planets, Celestial Objects
- Duration: 32 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: General Audiences, grades 6+
Full Description:
The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious, has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths and awe for as long as there have been people. A desire to comprehend the Universe may well be humanity’s oldest shared intellectual experience, yet only recently have we truly begun to grasp our place in the vast cosmos. To learn about this journey of celestial discovery, from the theories of the ancient Greek astronomers to today’s grandest telescopes, we invite you to experience “From Earth to the Universe!”
IBEX – The Interstellar Boundary Explorer
- Topics: Deep Space, IBEX and Voyager spacecraft
- Duration: 37 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 12+, grades 8+
Full Description:
Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between our Solar System and the rest of our galaxy in IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System. Designed for visitors with an appreciation for the challenges of space science and a desire to learn more about science research, IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System follows the creation of NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). Audiences will get an in-depth look at the mission and how IBEX is collecting high-speed atoms to create a map of our Solar System’s boundary.
Kaluoka Hina: The Enchanted Reef
- Topics: Barrier Reef, Tides & Moon
- Duration: 32 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 5+, families, grades K-3
Full Description:
The vastness of our planet’s oceans guards unimaginable secrets. One of its most precious is “Kaluoka’hina”, the enchanted reef whose magic protects it against humans finding it. Kaluoka’hina’s colorful inhabitants have thus always lived in peace…until the volcano erupts, and the spell is broken. Now it’s up to the young sawfish Jake and his paranoid pal Shorty to restore the magic of Kaluoka’hina.
Oasis in Space
- Topics: Solar System, importance of water
- Duration: 24 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 6+, families, grades 2-5
Full Description:
Oasis in Space takes you on a journey through the solar system where we gaze at beautiful images of the planets and their satellites. We start by exploring Earth, with its vast oceans that make life possible. One by one, we fly by the other planets and moons, accompanied by full descriptions of their characteristics, such as atmosphere, temperature, and composition.
Planet Nine
- Topics: Dwarf Planets, Pluto, Gravity, Hypothetical Planet Nine
- Duration: 28 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 12+, General Audiences, Grades 8th-College
Full Description:
With all the controversy surrounding Pluto’s status as a planet, it is easy to lose track of the bigger story—a rich new class of worlds is being uncovered in the outer solar system. These discoveries strongly suggest that there may be an unknown world, far beyond the other eight planets, a world much larger than anything discovered in that region so far.
Funding for this film was provided by The Town of Sunset Beach through its Accommodation Taxes.
Seven Wonders
- Topics: Seven Wonders, Astronomy Wonders
- Duration: 35 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: General Audiences
Full Description:
Turn back the pages of time and witness the ancient wonders of the world as they appeared thousands of years ago. Explore the Great Pyramid, stand in the shadow of the towering Colossus and experience the rest of the world’s SEVEN WONDERS. We will investigate the theories of how these wonders were created, and get a glimpse of some of the universe’s greatest wonders.
Sunstruck
- Topics: The Sun, Heliophysics, Solar Lifecycles
- Duration: 40 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 8+, families, grades 5-12
Full Description:
This exciting new show on solar science, created by the Michigan Science Center in collaboration with NASA and narrated by noted science fiction author Mike Shepherd, shares the wonders of our own personal star, the Sun. The Sun’s incredible energy has supported life on Earth for millennia, but it also poses threats to the way of life our 21st-century technology has enabled. In Sunstruck, you will travel to the distant future to discover the Sun’s connection to our universe’s cosmic cycle of life and death.
Tales of the Maya Skies
Tales of the Mayan Skies Trailer from Spitz Inc on Vimeo.
- Topics: Mayan astronomy and history
- Duration: 34 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 6+, families, grades 3+
Full Description:
Immerse yourself in the beauty of Chichén Itzá, Mexico, and listen to the story of the ancient Maya civilization. Experience Tales of the Maya Skies. With unprecedented realism Tales of the Maya Skies immerses us in Maya science, art and mythology, using full dome digital technology to transport us back into the world of the Maya. Tales of the Maya Skies inspires and educates through its description of the Maya’s accurate astronomical achievements and how astronomy connected them to the Universe.
The Longest Night, A Winter’s Tale
Topics: Fables, Winter Solstice, Seasons, Mythical Creatures
Duration: 35 minutes (appox.)
Suggested Age Range: Families
The winter solstice provides the backdrop for this one-of-a-kind full-dome planetarium show. This original fable explores the concept that winter is a time for Earth to rest, waiting for new growth in the spring.
The Longest Night is a Morehead Planetarium production in collaboration with Paperhand Puppet Intervention for the story and visuals. The Morehead production team wove together a live-action video of Paperhand’s world-class puppeteers with beautiful and intricate full-dome animation to create this innovative and imaginative show.
Ingram Planetarium will include a winter themed live star show at the end of every showing of The Longest Night that will explore the bright sights in the night sky at a time when darkness lasts it’s longest in the day.
The Sky Tonight!
- Topics: The Carolina night sky, constellations, planets
- Duration: 55 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: General Audiences
Full Description:
Ever wonder “what’s up” in the night sky? Explore the planets, constellations, and other celestial events happening in the sky tonight! This live program focuses on what you can see if you stepped outside your home or rental and looked up to the heavens. Is there a meteor shower? Can you see the International Space Station? Find out, then look for yourself! Additionally, this program will comment on the latest breaking news in astronomy, as appropriate.
The Sun, Our Living Star
Description: The Sun has shone on our world for four and a half billion years. The light that warms our skin today has been felt by every person who has ever lived. It is our nearest star and our planet’s powerhouse, the source of the energy that drives our winds, our weather and all life. Discover the secrets of our star in this planetarium show and experience never-before-seen images of the Sun’s violent surface in immersive full dome format.
Two Small Pieces of Glass
- Topics: Telescopes, Space Observation, History
- Duration: 30 minutes (approx.)
- Suggested Age Range: Ages 8+, families, grades 5+
Full Description:
While attending a local star party, two teenage students learn how the telescope has helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our understanding of the Universe. Their conversation with a local female astronomer enlightens them on the history of the telescope and the discoveries these wonderful tools have made. The students see how telescopes work and how the largest observatories in the world use these instruments to explore the mysteries of the universe.