Planetario de Medellín

"I haven't been to a planetarium since I was a kid, and how they have changed, at least Medellín. I'm giving this place a ridiculous five stars because it's reignited my curiosity in educational spaces.

Honestly, I wasn't planning on visiting the planetarium during my trip, but the botanical gardens were magically closed on Tuesdays (that's a whole different story), and Parque Explora offered me a package to ticket deal. So, why not?

I don't know how much the ticket costs by itself, but after visiting, I'm positive it's worth it. The ticket includes a movie in the dome theater, and after a brief explanation of my options, I chose The Unseen Universe (roughly translated).

Before the movies started I had about an hour to tour the facility's other exhibits. Immediately upon entering, a group of children was making an absorbent amount of noise, which was actually comforting considering major cities in the United States barely have enough money to remain open, nevermind take a field trip to the planetarium.

My first thought after seeing the children was that it was too bad there wasn't a classroom built into this place. Then I turned to my right, and BAM, classroom. Well played...

I continued to circulate through the exhibits being thoroughly impressed with the practical demonstrations that had been configured to explain very complicated concepts. Even as an adult, unless you're scientifically inclined, I would suggest touring by yourself. The staff performs great demonstrations, and is well versed in the information.

At this point, I was thinking this place is a solid four stars, then the staffer with the master tablet showed up. He stepped into the room and began changing the planets displayed on the projector, rotating to highlight specific areas, and I was impressed.

The staff member then escorted everyone into the theater and previewed the movie for us. He explained what was going to happen, how long the experience would be, and warned everyone about their phones (which turned out to be a litmus test for iPhone users understanding their settings 😂).

I was surprised that phones were allowed in the dome, but after explaining how reflective the screens are and how anyone recording needed to lower their brightness, I proceeded to watch iPhone users struggle for the next ten minutes trying to figure out how to adjust the setting. 😂😂😂

The movie was great and it played for exactly as long as promised. I thought the experience was over and wondered why there wasn't some kind of animated film that took advantage of the ability of 3D software to create 360 movies (S/O Blender). Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, he introduced a short animated film made just for the occasion. 5 Stars!

The whole thing was great. The tech was great; the science was great; and the staff was great. The experience was so good that I'm going to visit planetariums in other cities. It's a must visit."

Jermain Allen (J. Allen)

"My wife and I had a blast! We were so happy to explore the planetarium here in Medellin! I was nervous at first because my Spanish is just so-so, but everything was also in English! We did the dome presentation and they also had audio headphones! The entire thing was about 2-3 hours and it was super cheap! Highly suggest a great date."

Chris

"I went there on a Monday morning and it was just splendid ! Every part of it was extremely informative and I loved that there were many interactive activities. I could have spent the entire day there and I’m not even really into science ! The staff also made a huge difference in that unforgettable experience. I’d like to thank once again the wonderful Santiago from the Dome that had animated documentaries. I was there during the Animales Celestiales documentary and since I was the only person in the room. He really took the time to show me everything he knew and made it so accessible for me. I wish him all the best; he’ll be the best astrophysics professor ever ! This encounter was the highlight of that day and I hope to be able to come back."

Miss Mokkori