J. Watumull Planetarium
Hawaiʻi’s Gateway to the Stars
Daily Planetarium Shows
All planetarium tickets must be purchased in conjunction with general museum admission. Planetarium tickets are available for purchase on-site only.
Special Evening Online Planetarium Shows
1st Saturday of every month:
The Stars Tonight Online
Special Evening Online Planetarium Shows
3rd Wednesday of February, May, August, and November:
Navigating by the Stars Online

Celebrating Bishop Museum's J. Watumull Planetarium
Mid-Century Aloha is excited to announce the release of this custom-designed J. Watumull Planetarium poster. Art by Scott Sugiuchi for Mid-Century Aloha. 100% of profits support Bishop Museum!
Bishop Museum’s Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium opened its doors on December 12, 1961. Originally called the Kilolani Planetarium, the Watumull Planetarium has served over six million visitors and students over 60 years of continuous operation. The Planetarium was instrumental in the recovery of the nearly lost art and science of traditional, non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi. Nainoa Thompson spent countless hours in the Planetarium with Will Kyselka and other Planetarium staff in the late 1970s learning how to read the night sky. We are honored to continue that legacy by serving as a training space for today’s navigators.
Our GOTO Chronos II optical star projector provides one of the most vivid, realistic recreations of the night sky available today, with 8,500 pinpoint stars and realistic, bright planets. Our Digistar 4K full dome video system covers the entire dome in immersive video, allowing us to fly through the rings of Saturn, into the depths of the Orion nebula, out to the edge of the universe, and even simulate a voyage across the Pacific.
The Planetarium has 64 seats and serves 70,000 people a year. The planetarium focuses on programs about Hawaiʻi, blending live and prerecorded elements within each program.
Upcoming Planetarium Events
Daily Planetarium Shows Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Click here to get your tickets.
Navigating by the Stars Online: Kaiwikuamoʻo


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
Bishop Museum’s J. Watumull Planetarium Presents
Navigating by the Stars Online: Kaiwikuamoʻo
May 18, 2022
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Online Registration Required
General: $6
Members: FREE*
All ages welcome.
We’re bringing our Planetarium to you for Navigating by the Stars, livestreamed from the J. Watumull Planetarium at Bishop Museum. Join Bishop Museum Planetarium educators and Hōkūleʻa navigator and Honolulu Community College Hoʻokele Instructor Kaʻiulani Murphy from the comfort of your own home! Each talk will include an introduction to the night sky and celestial navigation, and will feature the Hawaiian star line most prominent that month. This month’s featured Hawaiian star line is Kaiwikuamoʻo.
Edge of Darkness


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Edge of Darkness features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that culminated with groundbreaking discoveries in 2015. It features a spectacular flight though the great cliffs on comet 67P, a close look at the fascinating bright “lights” on Ceres, and the first-ever close-ups of dwarf binary planet Pluto/Charon and its moons. Narrated by Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the ABC television series.
Planetarium: Wayfinders


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
This full-dome program puts you on the deck of the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa as you explore the nearly lost art and science of non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Produced by Bishop Museum in collaboration with Polynesian Voyaging Society and 1001 Stories.
Hidden Pacific


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Hidden Pacific is a pioneering film that profiles some of the Pacific Ocean’s most beautiful islands and marine national monuments — breathtaking places that will leave audiences with a deep-felt appreciation for the beauty of nature untouched by civilization. The storied histories of Palmyra, Midway and other atolls – from the WWII Pacific Theater to their present environmental recovery and ecological research initiatives – provide the platform from which the film explores a diversity of science and human stories. Hidden Pacific is produced by Tandem Stills + Motion, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and affiliated organizations.
Edge of Darkness


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Edge of Darkness features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that culminated with groundbreaking discoveries in 2015. It features a spectacular flight though the great cliffs on comet 67P, a close look at the fascinating bright “lights” on Ceres, and the first-ever close-ups of dwarf binary planet Pluto/Charon and its moons. Narrated by Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the ABC television series.
Planetarium: Wayfinders


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
This full-dome program puts you on the deck of the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa as you explore the nearly lost art and science of non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Produced by Bishop Museum in collaboration with Polynesian Voyaging Society and 1001 Stories.
Hidden Pacific


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Hidden Pacific is a pioneering film that profiles some of the Pacific Ocean’s most beautiful islands and marine national monuments — breathtaking places that will leave audiences with a deep-felt appreciation for the beauty of nature untouched by civilization. The storied histories of Palmyra, Midway and other atolls – from the WWII Pacific Theater to their present environmental recovery and ecological research initiatives – provide the platform from which the film explores a diversity of science and human stories. Hidden Pacific is produced by Tandem Stills + Motion, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and affiliated organizations.
Edge of Darkness


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Edge of Darkness features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that culminated with groundbreaking discoveries in 2015. It features a spectacular flight though the great cliffs on comet 67P, a close look at the fascinating bright “lights” on Ceres, and the first-ever close-ups of dwarf binary planet Pluto/Charon and its moons. Narrated by Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the ABC television series.
Planetarium: Wayfinders


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
This full-dome program puts you on the deck of the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa as you explore the nearly lost art and science of non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Produced by Bishop Museum in collaboration with Polynesian Voyaging Society and 1001 Stories.
Hidden Pacific


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Hidden Pacific is a pioneering film that profiles some of the Pacific Ocean’s most beautiful islands and marine national monuments — breathtaking places that will leave audiences with a deep-felt appreciation for the beauty of nature untouched by civilization. The storied histories of Palmyra, Midway and other atolls – from the WWII Pacific Theater to their present environmental recovery and ecological research initiatives – provide the platform from which the film explores a diversity of science and human stories. Hidden Pacific is produced by Tandem Stills + Motion, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and affiliated organizations.
Planetarium: Wayfinders


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
This full-dome program puts you on the deck of the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa as you explore the nearly lost art and science of non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Produced by Bishop Museum in collaboration with Polynesian Voyaging Society and 1001 Stories.
Edge of Darkness


Organizer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Location
More Info
Edge of Darkness features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that culminated with groundbreaking discoveries in 2015. It features a spectacular flight though the great cliffs on comet 67P, a close look at the fascinating bright “lights” on Ceres, and the first-ever close-ups of dwarf binary planet Pluto/Charon and its moons. Narrated by Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the ABC television series.
There is an additional $2.95 fee per person for each daytime Planetarium show.
Bishop Museum members continue to enjoy FREE admission to the daily Planetarium shows; members just need to pick up a Planetarium show ticket first at the Admission Desk.
Tickets are for a specific show and are available onsite from 9 a.m. on the day of the show.
About the J. Watumull Planetarium
Bishop Museum’s Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium opened its doors on December 12, 1961. Originally called the Kilolani Planetarium, the Watumull Planetarium has served over six million visitors and students over 60 years of continuous operation. The Planetarium was instrumental in the recovery of the nearly lost art and science of traditional, non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi. Nainoa Thompson spent countless hours in the Planetarium with Will Kyselka and other Planetarium staff in the late 1970s learning how to read the night sky. We are honored to continue that legacy by serving as a training space for today’s navigators.
Our GOTO Chronos II optical star projector provides one of the most vivid, realistic recreations of the night sky available today, with 8,500 pinpoint stars and realistic, bright planets. Our Digistar 4K full-dome video system covers the entire dome in immersive video, allowing us to fly through the rings of Saturn, into the depths of the Orion nebula, out to the edge of the universe, and even simulate a voyage across the Pacific.
The Planetarium has 64 seats and serves 70,000 people a year. The planetarium focuses on programs about Hawaiʻi, blending live and prerecorded elements within each program.