5 Planetariums to Explore in California

Among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens.

A centre for science founded as an observatory in 1883, today Chabot offers visitors the very latest in hands-on, interactive exhibits, displays, and Planetarium shows that explore the mysteries of the universe and of life here on earth. Combined with a full program of activity-filled classes, workshops, summer camps, outreach programs and special events, Chabot Space & Science Center has become the Bay Area’s go to destination for visitors of all ages.

The Fleet Science Center is a science museum and planetarium in Balboa Park, located in San Diego, established in 1973. It was the first science museum to combine interactive science exhibits with a planetarium and an IMAX Dome theater, setting the standard that most major science museums follow today.

Commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory offers a close view of the Hollywood Sign and an extensive array of space and science-related displays. Admission has been free since the observatory's opening in 1935.

This is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by the University of California Observatories, with headquarters on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, where its scientific staff moved in the mid-1960s. It is named after James Lick.