San Diego Planetarium Shows: Fleet Dome & Palomar College

San Diego’s main planetarium is the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, where a resident astronomer presents a live show called The Sky Tonight each month and IMAX films play daily. For a smaller, cheaper night under a dome, Palomar College’s planetarium in San Marcos runs public shows on Friday evenings. Here’s how each works, what it costs, and how to plan your visit.

The Fleet Science Center’s Giant Dome Theater

The Fleet opened in Balboa Park on March 10, 1973, as the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center. Its 76-foot dome, tilted 25 degrees toward the audience, doubled as a screen for 70mm IMAX film, and the founders coined the name “OMNIMAX” for that wraparound format (Fleet history). It also housed a computer-controlled star projector built by Spitz.

In 2012 the theater was renovated and renamed the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. That update added a new seamless dome screen and surround sound, and made it the first theater in the country to share a digital planetarium system with an IMAX projector. So if you’re searching for the “Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater” or “Reuben H. Fleet IMAX,” this is the same place: today the Fleet describes it as IMAX with laser projection on the 76-foot screen (Fleet shows).

Address: 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101, on the Prado next to the Bea Evenson Fountain. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The Sky Tonight: the live planetarium show

The Sky Tonight is the Fleet’s real planetarium experience. Resident Astronomer Lisa Will uses the dome to show what’s visible in San Diego’s sky that month: planets, constellations, meteor showers and current space news. Each show runs about an hour.

• Weeknight show: first Wednesday of each month, at 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
• Weekend Edition: second Sunday of each month, at 11 a.m. A good fit for families with younger kids.
• Upcoming dates: November 4 (7 and 8:15 p.m.), November 8 (11 a.m.), December 2 (7 and 8:15 p.m.) and December 13 (11 a.m.), 2026.
• Free telescopes outside: before or after the evening show, the San Diego Astronomy Association sets up telescopes on the Prado near the Bea Evenson Fountain, weather permitting.

Tickets are sold separately through the event page. The Fleet doesn’t publish a general price on that page, so check it when you book. Fleet members get $10 off, and Adventurer-level members and above get in free. Doors open about 10 minutes before showtime and there is no late entry, so arrive early.

IMAX and dome films

Most days the Giant Dome shows documentaries and films rather than live sky shows. The November 2026 lineup includes:

Film	Typical showtimes (Nov 2026)
Deep Sky (James Webb Space Telescope images)	1 p.m. daily, some 4 or 5 p.m. shows
Wings Over Water (North American birds)	12 and 3 p.m. most days
Sea Otters: A Wild Family Adventure	2 p.m. most days
America the Beautiful	11 a.m. most days
We, The Marines	Select dates only

Deep Sky is the pick for space fans; the Webb telescope imagery fills the whole dome. The Fleet has also scheduled evening IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three on select dates from December 17 through January 3. Check the shows page for exact times, which shift around holidays.

Fleet Science Center ticket prices

These are the prices on the Fleet’s visit page:

Ticket	Price
The Fleet Experience, adults 13+ (galleries + one dome documentary)	$21.95
The Fleet Experience, seniors 65+	$19.95
The Fleet Experience, juniors 3-12	$18.95
Ages 2 and under	Free
Additional dome documentary (at the ticket counter)	$9.95 each
Movies in the Dome (feature films, not included with admission)	$18, all ages
The Sky Tonight	Separate ticket; see the event page

The best value for most visitors is the Fleet Experience: you get the hands-on galleries and one dome documentary, so pick Deep Sky if a planetarium-style experience is what you’re after. The Fleet doesn’t state that these prices are fixed for 2026, so confirm when you buy.

Accessibility Hours: the Fleet opens an hour early, 9 to 10 a.m., on the third Saturday of each month; see the visit page for details.

Getting there and parking

The Fleet says parking is free in its own lot on the south side of the building, reached from Space Theater Way off Park Boulevard, with more lots spread across Balboa Park. On evenings of The Sky Tonight, the museum’s lot is the easiest choice. If you park elsewhere in Balboa Park, check posted signs and the City of San Diego’s Balboa Park pages for any current fees.

If you arrive early, walk west along El Prado toward the Cabrillo Bridge for one of the park’s best views, especially near sunset before an evening show.

Palomar College Planetarium (San Marcos)

The Palomar College Planetarium is the best alternative to the Fleet, especially for families on a budget. It’s a dedicated planetarium on the campus at 1140 West Mission Road, San Marcos in North County San Diego.

How Friday nights work:

• 6:15 p.m.: lobby, box office and gift shop open
• 6:30 p.m.: seating begins
• 7 to 8 p.m.: The Sky Tonight, a live tour of the current night sky
• 8:15 to 9 p.m.: a fulldome show
• 6:15 to 9:30 p.m.: free telescope viewing on the patio, weather permitting

November 2026 fulldome shows are Unveiling the Invisible Universe (Nov 6), One Sky Project (Nov 13) and Faster Than Light (Nov 20). There is no show on November 27.

Tickets: each show is sold separately, $7 for ages 13 and up and $5 for children 5 to 12, seniors 55+, military with ID and Palomar students and staff. Children under 5 are not admitted. Shows often sell out, so buy online. Online sales close at 5:30 p.m. on show day, and the box office is card only, no cash.

Good to know: seating is first come, first served; there’s no late seating; no food or drinks are allowed inside, not even water bottles. Free parking for Friday public shows is in Lot 5 only. Palomar suggests using its own campus maps rather than Google to find it.

Fleet or Palomar: which one?

	Fleet Science Center	Palomar College
Live sky show	Monthly (1st Wed evening, 2nd Sun morning)	Most Friday evenings
Daily IMAX films	Yes	No
Price	Museum $18.95-$21.95; dome films $9.95-$18	$5-$7 per show
Age limits	None	No children under 5
Free telescopes	Monthly, outside the evening show	Every show night, weather permitting
Best for	Visitors staying central, museum + film days	Locals in North County, true astronomy nights

Visitors staying downtown or near Balboa Park will find the Fleet far easier, and its daytime films suit a rainy afternoon. If your trip lines up with a first Wednesday, The Sky Tonight plus telescopes on the Prado makes a great evening. If you’re in North County on a Friday and want a proper astronomy night for under $10 a head, go to Palomar.

Real dark skies after the show

City light limits what you see from Balboa Park. For a genuinely dark sky, head east into the Laguna Mountains; our Mount Laguna guide covers getting there and where to stop. The Fleet’s adult Palomar Observatory Experience, a bus trip with a private tour of the Palomar dome and stargazing on Palomar Mountain, is due to return in spring 2027, per the Sky Tonight event page.