Get Star Struck at the Illuminarium

The moon may not be made out of cheese, but the boulders floating through space feel like dodging baked potatoes. In honor of National Space Day on May 5, the Illuminarium launched a new addition to its SPACE spectacle, featuring an interactive James Webb Space Telescope experience showcasing cosmic views from the telescope, the largest and most groundbreaking telescope ever built.

Illuminarium’s newest exhibit, “SPACE: A Journey to the Moon & Beyond,” features high-tech animation systems and 360-degree, fully immersive screens that provide a never-before-seen perspective and scale of the James Webb imagery.

In SPACE, guests can interact with cliffs and nebulas.

Iluminarium CEO Alan Greenberg and partners were among the pioneers in this form of “infotainment” and have since expanded past Atlanta to Las Vegas, and soon, Toronto. There have been artists, animals, flowers, kids’ spectacles; but this one is especially enriching and well put together. The WILD African Safari Experience and Waking Wonderland (a la Alice) are also current choices.

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About SPACE, Greenberg stated, “The Illuminarium James Webb experience adds a new, breathtaking element to our SPACE spectacle. Guests will see the remarkable James Webb imagery at a scale like never before, including a time elapse showing how the James Webb Space Telescope unfurls in the cosmos over a 15-day period, one of the great technological feats of our time. It’s part spectacle and part science lesson all in one at Illuminarium.”

The SPACE experience is driven by a blend of technology, including 4K laser projection, 3-D audio, LIDAR based interactivity, in-floor sensation-creating haptics, and even scent. Strobe effects, gentle floor vibration, immersive sound, and realistic and responsive projection may all be part of the show. Guests have the opportunity to interact with cosmic cliffs, tarantula nebulas, The Southern Ring, Pillars of Creation, and more. Using a wave of the hand, viewers can literally affect what they see on the Illuminarium walls. Walk by the star-filled Pillars of Creation, and new colors and sights are revealed.

Particularly inspiring was the surround sound compatible music, like “Ground Control to Major Tom,” from David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” and who couldn’t dance among Jupiter and Mars’ stars to Frank Sinatra’s, “Fly Me to The Moon”?

How small we are among the galaxies, through the eyes of a child.

Guests will also see the dramatic unfurling and deployment of the JWST in deep space — how a telescope the size of a football field that was crammed into a rocket less than 30 feet in diameter came to life.  Some have described the unfolding of the JWST to that of an origami creation or like a remote-controlled opening of a gigantic Swiss Army knife or a pentagonal set of mirrors made of gold. Especially enlightening was the sparkling prediction of what a developed space station might look like in the not-too-distant future, and who among us would volunteer to live on a developed space station?

The rocket liftoff was equally jarring. Here, we are all as children gazing up with a sense of wonder; and in the revelation of how small we humans really are; and certainly, there must be some life out there!

The James Webb Space Telescope relays images of the cosmos over a 15-day period.

There is also a dine-in or outside Illuminarium café (and bar), and another form of fulfilling experience can take place al fresco watching the skateboarders and joggers whiz by on the BeltLine.

SPACE will continue through the remainder of 2023. Guests can mix and match shows and opt for an all-day pass to combine multiple shows — or just one. There are family packages, youth and senior discounts, VIP choices, and group admission for 10-50 guests. Think about a respite from the heat for a summer staycation.

Note: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings are dedicated to an age 21-plus SPACE After Dark experience. The Illuminarium is also available for private parties.
550 Somerset Terrace, NE. 404 341-1000

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today.
– David Bowie