What a wordy title! This is a review of the Cocktails & Cosmos show. This is every Friday night at 7PM and takes place in the Intuitive Planetarium, which is at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. The shows change every week and the one we attended was “Put a Ring On It”, for Valentine’s Day! About Saturn, its rings, moons, and some of the missions to Saturn. Tickets are $17 for adults and $14 for children. This does not include any of the delicious cocktails available for purchase.
Obviously this is adult-oriented with the “cocktails” in the title, but there is nothing about this event that’s inappropriate for kids. And the show isn’t geared TOWARDS kids, either. Which I really appreciate we didn’t have to stop to do the “hey kids, can you help me find where saturn is??” stuff. The presentation was SUPER well-balanced. It wasn’t dumbed-down, but not overly-technical or jargon-y, either. As I mentioned, this show was about Saturn, its composition, and its rings. But also its moons, of which it has 146. And also some about the Cassini spacecraft. Each item was touched on just enough that you understand WHY that thing is neat and want to learn more, but not so much detail that you feel like you’re getting lectured at.
The show starts at 7, but the doors open at 6:15. You’ll want to park at the smaller lot near the space shuttle and the main entrance (not the Davidson center with the Saturn V).
Walk through the main entrance, you’ll be directed through the gift shop and to a table. You just have to give the last name the tickets are under, so no worry about printing your tickets or having your phone ready. They’ll give you a wristband, and then you can move on to the lobby just outside the Intuitive Planetarium.
Isn’t it too cool?? In a way I’m disappointed we only have 45 minutes before the show to hang out here! The Planetarium seats about 240 people, so for a sold-out show, this space can get crowded. Just to the right is the concession stand, which has the delicious cocktails, plus your standard fare like popcorn, nachos, cokes, and candy. The line can get long, so definitely get there right when doors open so you have time to enjoy it! At about 6:35 or so, they open up the Planetarium so you can grab your seat (which do have cup holders!). You do NOT select your seat when purchasing tickets, so again, I recommend going in early to get your pick of seats.
There is some handicap seating near the top with fold-out chairs. The seats are what you used to see more often in movie theaters; not the nice recliners. But the seats are clearly new and still in great condition. Extremely easy to hear, not too loud or too quiet, temperature not too hot or too cold. If you are prone to motion sickness, I definitely recommend taking some type of precaution. Especially if you indulge in a cocktail. There is a little bit of zooming around in space to get to the object we’re talking about, but not too much. I just closed my eyes during that part and was OK. And I can’t even play Portal without getting sick!