Sharpe Planetarium

Rediscover Sharpe Planetarium! The seating is theater style and Gone is the central projector. The surround sound is excellent too.
I saw «Firefall» and was blown away by what modern digital shows can do. Very educational and suspenseful. After the film, they had a brief walkthrough of the current night sky for late January. The staff were very pleasant.
Highly recommend!

Okay… the Planetarium gets three stars because 2 stars indicates «Meh, I’ve experienced better». Well, to the best of my knowledge, there are no other planetariums in Memphis, nor have I been to any others.
That being said, it was lackluster. I LOVED how dark it got and seeing all the stars in the sky. If I wasn’t such a nerd, I may have just closed my eyes and taken a nap. (That’s what hubby did for about 10 minutes). The show itself was… eh…informative, yet boring. I guess the planetarium is something I’d do with my daughter for educational reasons. I still think it needs a revamp of some sorts.
That being said, remember the saying «Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth»? Perhaps we should abide by that, as I don’t know where else to have this kind of experience.

A favorite amongst adults and kids alike, the Sharpe Planetarium at the Pink Palace Museum will take you on an out of this world adventure with its variety of cool, astronomical programs and events. Step into the huge, round room at the Pink Palace and get blown away as a special projector shines light beams on the ceiling to create a unique feeling of outer space travel. View the various stars, constellations, galaxies and planets that make up our night sky as the Planetarium staff presents informative and educational programs to teach you more about the objects in front of you. Seats in the Planetarium are designed to give every guest an optimal view of the awesome sky above them. Whether you come for pleasure or educational value, the Planetarium will take you on a ride to worlds unknown without you ever having to leave your seat. The Pink Palace, which houses the planetarium, is also planning new technology to make your stargazing experience even more exciting. Admission to the planetarium is in addition to Pink Palace museum admission.

I vividly remember field trips here as a kid. It was fascinating to sit in a dark room and look up at the «stars.» I learned a lot about the constellation, things I still remember and share with my own kids.
It was this memory that led me to take my boys here. They have visited the Pink Palace Museum (where the Planetarium is housed) on school field trips but never the Planetarium. We went to the Starlite Nights show which featured the summer constellations. It had it all for boys– lights, noise and «space.»
The shows change a few times a year and admission is in addition to the Pink Palace admission. Plan ahead as the shows have set schedules.

The first things I noticed after I sat down in the Sharpe Planetarium were the giant, barbell-​shaped machine in the center of the room and the dozens of projectors circling the room. That, and the disco balls. Sadly, the disco balls weren’t used during the presentation of «Bear Tales and Other Grizzly Stories».
The lights dimmed, and I leaned back and watched as the star machine and projectors flashed the night sky onto the planetarium’s domed ceiling. The current program at the planetarium is about a family looking at the night sky and telling the stories behind some of the most well-​known constellations. The current show, «Bear Tales and Other Grizzly Stories», is about 30 minutes long and completely family friendly (it closes with a singalong, too).
Following the regular program, Planetarium Supervisor David Maness projected some images of the night sky as seen from Memphis onto the ceiling and pointed out where common constellations are located. He also mentioned that currently (as in, tonight) Venus, Mars, and Saturn will all be visible, though, to the naked eye, they’ll just look like extra bright stars.
The Sharpe Planetarium has been open inside the Pink Palace Museum since 1979. Currently, there are 16 public and school group shows in the planetarium every week, and usually a few special private shows (the planetarium can be rented for the evening). The planetarium’s shows change about every three months, which keeps them seasonally appropriate — the constellations that are in the spring are different from the ones that appear in the fall.
The planetarium has shows every week, Tuesday — Saturday. Admission is separate from regular museum admission, but it’s a bargain at $ 4.50 for adults and $ 4 for kids.