Affordable So Cal experience. Multiple shows and showtimes. Clean inside and out and plenty of parking. We watched "Explore". Would like to see other shows. read more

See all

Before I get into the actual Planetarium experience, I want to say that the staff was very helpful and were wonderful people. 5 stars for them all. HOWEVER - as a consumer, The Planetarium experience isn't about staff-interaction, it's supposed to be about mind-blowing visual / aural entertainment. And that's what my 2 star review is about... Lame. James Hood's MESMERICA features a well-conceived score (mostly electronic with brass/string/percussive simulation) and computer-generated graphics that we felt were very-well thought out. The message of hope, spiritual unity and the importance of 'living in the moment' were needed and well-taken. All that said, WHY were there 3 incredibly distinct blue "light stains" visible 100% of the time on the dome?? Every single graphic that played out on that dome was diminished greatly by those light stains - they were insidious and distracting to the point of turn-off. "Once you seem them, you can't unsee them" - and it ruined the entire presentation. Furthermore, it was obvious that the MESMERICA score didn't have enough music and graphics to carry a 45-minute presentation. 30 minutes would have done it. Seriously. As a 45-minute presentation, it felt far too long. If you're going to do a presentation that relies on slick graphics and visuals (like, isn't that the entire purpose of selling tickets to a DOME SHOW??) you have GOT to clean up that light distraction. Horrible! Sorry, I can't show pictures of it as photography/videography were disallowed. read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - the lobby outside the planetarium - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

See all

I've been to Sphere Las Vegas and Universal studios...Kungfu Panda with vibrating seats insink to sound system and 3d and sharp colored shows....This Beautifica 360 is soooo boring and dull screen. Sound system is very weak and no sound effects to the show. Totally waste of money. Good thing we just wanted to try it out and didn't waste money on vip tickets. We're so disappointed! Please don't waste your time and money on this!!! read more

the Mesmerica kaleidoscope experience was amazing. One hour guided meditation in a planetarium setting with sound bath and amazing music. read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - happy new year! - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

What a cool little planetarium! There was no star generator there like I remembered when I was a kid and my dad would take us to a nearby planetarium. The star generators always look like big bugs and scared the crap out of me, lol. Despite that, the immersive experience here was lots of fun. Beware that there are times when the projection and images can make you a little dizzy so just close your eyes or look down at the floor for a second & you should be fine. There's also a small aquarium nearby at an adjacent building that we were able to go thru after the show and we saw various forms of sea life that are renewed to by the students. read more

The Orange Coast College Planetarium is one of my favorite places in Orange County. I try to come here every couple months and I've also taken my Girl Scout Troop here for field trips 2 times. I love how the Planetarium is a fairly new, state of the art facility that is constantly adding cool new features and exhibits in the main area. The best part of the Planetarium is that they have a huge library of shows and they rotate the shows so that there are new shows every month so you can keep coming back to view new and different shows - some are about the Earth too in addition to obviously space. They have a large variety of kids shows too even suitable for little kids. Every show description lists the "Recommended ages" so you know who the show is geared for. They also offer Skylark Speaker Series where every month the planetarium brings in special guest speakers to education about the latest topics in Space & Astronomy - the best part is admission is free! You just have to reserve your space! How cool is that!? Currently the Planetarium offers a 10am show every other Wednesday (geared towards kids), an evening Friday show every week and on Saturdays they offer 3 back to back shows: 1pm, 2pm and 3pm followed by the weekly 4pm Skywatchers. Skywatchers is where the you get a live tour of the night sky as you'd see it that night projected on the dome of the planetarium (without the light pollution of course - you get to see the real sky that day as if you had zero light pollution and they outline the different constellations, show the planets, galaxies, nebulae, etc.!) Some nights they also bring out their big telescope and let you look through it - when we did it we could see the rings of Saturn it was amazing! Tickets are $10/person for Adults. Children are $6 each and Senior Citizens are also $6 each. The Field Trip Prices are very economical too (I've done this 2 times for my Girl Scout Troop both girls and their families): For groups with fewer than 50 people, there is a minimum fee of $250 (which then you divide by the number of people to get the price per person).For larger groups over 50 people, fees are calculated based on attendance: $5 per person, with 1 free chaperone for every 10 students. The planetarium seats about 60 people. The planetarium is located at Orange Coast College off of Fairview and Merrimac Way by the OC Fairgrounds. Parking is free in OCC Lot E. Walk past the library and you can't miss the planetarium since it's the big domed building! In the lobby they have neat exhibits, a fun gift shop (all proceeds benefit the planetarium) and a pendulum that illustrates the rotating of the earth with time. We love the planetarium and try to go often to see the different shows. We highly recommend it!! read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - The telescope they bring out some nights - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The show was initially interesting in the first few minutes. However, the major part of the show was very disappointing because it gave the impression of watching a series of screen savers. The voice of the person talking in the background was a big disappointment and abstract. For $40 per ticket for six people, it was a waste of money and more importantly, time. read more

Found it out on tik tok and decided to make it into a date night which turned out to be such a great experience! 1000/10 recommend! The shows are so interesting! read more

It's not Griffith, but it's good. I was invited by my associates to a planetarium I didn't even know was here. Much closer than Griffith, let's give it a try! Parking is free on campus on the weekends. We sauntered up and waited. Discussed the online ticketing situation. Go online, pick a show and order. Then they send you something as vonfurmation/ticket. "They did?" We all go searching through e-mail, then someone finds it in text, so we redirect. Okay, everybody has their bar code--and they didn't even scan it! They're looking for date. One person could have found it, then sent us a screenshot. Anyway, there's a small learning museum before entrance. The space is intimate; perfect size. By other Yelp reviews, I'm thankful we got the guy we did, who was engaging in his explanations of the constellations. The crazy pics depicting the constellations though... It was a good experience. read more

See all

The exhibits that are free were cool, but the WORSE part of the paid movie show was the kid that kept on kicking the back of my seat. I think the narrator should have given a friendly reminder to keep feet off of the chairs ‍ read more

Nice facility and we saw Mesmerica 360 after buying tickets I saw in a Facebook ad. I'm sorry but it seemed redundant with the repeating vector style graphics and musical themes. Almost 2000's like screensaver-esque graphics. Some were good but they became repetitive fairly quickly. Best parts were the videos that appeared more photo-realistic, i.e. - flying through the trees, forest, plants or clouds. Would have helped if it were shorter as well. Its 45 minute run time was maybe 15-20 minutes too long. The storyline was inspiring but almost felt a little AI sometimes. Can't recommend... read more

The planetarium is nice. Very small. However, the Mesmerica 360 show was lame and not worth the money and the long drive to Costa Mesa. The graphics and music were repeated. Would rather have seen more skies and natural footage. Bored after 10 minutes. Felt ripped off. read more

A Heroic Rescue by OCC Planetarium! I cannot praise the OCC Planetarium enough, especially Jessica Artinger, for saving our 1st grade field trip! On December 16th, just 1 1/2 days before our scheduled visit to a Planetarium in the San Bernardino area, we were devastated to learn that they had to cancel our trip due to an emergency. I called several Planetarium's and when I called the OCC Planetarium at 2:30 p.m., and miraculously, Jessica was on her way home but decided to pick up the phone. I explained our situation, stressing that rescheduling the original Planetarium wasn't the real issue--getting transportation approved for field trips is incredibly difficult, and we might not be able to get it approved again. Jessica listened carefully and, despite the fact that their Planetarium was closed for the year and wouldn't reopen until January 8th, she offered to make an exception and accommodate our class for a special visit! She recommended a perfect show for our 1st graders, "Earth, Moon & Sun," and walked me through the whole process. She even stayed late after hours to help us fill out the necessary forms and ensure everything was in place. The fact that she opened up their entire Planetarium for us, when it was officially closed, just to make sure our students had their field trip, is truly remarkable! The children, parent volunteers, and teachers all had an amazing time at OCC Planetarium. Even though it was over an hour's drive from our usual location, everyone had smiles on their faces and left with new knowledge and happy hearts. Thank you so much, Jessica, and the entire team at OCC Planetarium! You went above and beyond to make our field trip a success, and we are forever grateful. You are truly our heroes, reaching new heights (pun intended!) and showing immense kindness. Thank you for saving the day! Vineyard STEM School - Ontario, CA read more

The show, Mesamerica 360 was so over the top hyped. It was a little entertaining, but got very monotonous in a very short time. I had wanted to see it because of what they show in the advertisements, but it was quite a disappointment. Glad I went so that now I know it is a one shot deal. read more

Went to watch Mesmerica and let me say, HOLY SHIT! IT SUCKED!!! If it wasn't for my wife I would've walked out in the first five minutes. It was a continuous journey traveling through screen savers and that stupid finger pan instrument got old quick. I've had a better getting a root canal. read more

Just saw the Mesmerica show-- just plain bad-- it was like a 45 minute loop of nothingness. If my doctor told me I had six months to live I would watch this each day because it would seem like a friggin lifetime. By the way I did not buy these tickets my girlfriend did it. read more

I recently visited the OCC Planetarium and saw two shows. One put on by the planetarium about the earth and all of the many planets that exist out in space, pretty amazing! The staff of the planetarium is amazing! Cheyenne was the commentator of the show, and she was so wonderful. Scott, the director, he explained anything you wanted to know more about after the show, anything really, extremely intelligent and kind. Then that evening there was a show Mesmerica (ran separately with their own staff) which is also amazing, "a visual music journey", super relaxing! The staff was wonderful. The show was wonderful. Both the planetarium and Mesmerica also have some pretty cool merchandise. Would definitely see both shows again! read more

See all

It is nice short outing. The program was about 45 minutes and kid oriented. Our kiddos are between 3 and 5 and both enjoyed it. There are computers right outside of the theater (planetarium) that are touch screen and helpful to give people/kids a brief glance at some Earth features, etc. We saw the Big Bird and Elmo (Sesame Street) show and attended on a Saturday so parking was free and easy. I wish we could've asp visited their small aquarium to make our outing a bit longer. Otherwise you are in and out in about 1.5 hours or less depending on how interesting your kiddos are in learning and reading about meteorites from the few displays. We parked on lot E (I think). We barely noticed the small sign directing us there but found out way! read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - OCC Planetarium - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Mesmerica was super boring . Not what a we expected . 3 stars is reaching . I'm being nice . Everyone was expecting more . Happy it was 40 minutes & over . It was like watching a computer . Nothing special with a lame beat . read more

My wife and I went to this place last night, we watched the mesmerica Show and it was quite the experience, the staff was friendly and very attentive to the guest! If you're looking for an experience to relax and get your mind off of things and clear your mind. read more

See all

MESMERICA show is overrated. It's an absolute 40 bucks down the drain. My computer screen saver is way better than the repetetive graphics they have shown. read more

The design of the seating arrangement is poorly thought out. I went to see the Mesmerica show, and I wasn't able to enjoy it due to my back, neck, and head hurting the entire 45-minute show. First, it's not assigned seating, so if you don't pay extra for VIP, there is a high possibility that you will get a bad seat. All of the VIP people get the good seats, and the rest get bad seats even though they arrived early and stood in line for quite some time. I guess they thought they could get a good seat as well if they arrived early. I arrived 30 minutes early and ended up with a bad seat. They should have assigned seats when you pay online to avoid this, but of course, they want our money anyway they can. The only good seats are in the back so that you get the whole view of the ceiling. Anywhere else will cause you to tilt your head farther back to get the whole view of the ceiling. And if you're on the side, it's even worse because now you have to tilt your whole body inwards. My back started to hurt. I don't know why they didn't arrange the seats to face the center in a circular pattern so that everyone has a good seat. All seats facing forward limits many viewers from seeing the entire ceiling, which I thought was the whole point of this experience. Part of the problem is also the degree to which the seats recline back. They don't recline back very far, which limits your view of the whole ceiling. You find yourself pressing your head into the headrest to see everything, which is what caused my headache. Also, the sound system was not very good. It's not surround sound, which is too bad because that could have really added to the experience. The Mesmerica show is a beautiful concept, but it won't work unless the audience can easily get a full view of the ceiling in a comfortable placement. I was very uncomfortable due to the poor seating design of the planetarium...unless you pay extra for VIP and get there an hour early. read more

Went to see the Laser Holidays Iight show tonight. Terrible and cheesy graphics. Made the entire family sick and dizzy with the way the show was made. Would not recommend. read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I enjoy planetariums. They are awe inspiring and relaxing places to visit. This one at Orange Coast College is a nice addition to the campus. Our friends invited us to join them in seeing James Hood's Mesmerica 360 show which is a visual and musical journey he created. It was a unique, relaxing and kinda spiritual experience. Relaxing to the point to where some of us may have fallen asleep at times ;) The OCC planetarium is a nice space. There is a cool pendulum inside when you enter the building that is showing how the earth is rotating. The staff here is nice and helpful. The planetarium, itself, is on the smaller size, but nice. There is a gift shop inside the building and the restrooms and venue are clean. Parking was free on the campus for the event which was nice, also. Definitely was a great place for the showing of the event we purchased tickets for. read more

See all

We went to the 3rd anniversary celebration of this planetariums opening on 3/20/2022. They were having free shows every 30 minutes to the public and community. We caught the 12:30 pm showing and it lasted 20-30 minutes. Also saw artist Paul Frank, so cool. They had exhibits and booths for the kids to interact. read more

Mesmerica was an interesting premise and I didn't know quite what I was signing up for, but it turned out excellent. A mind-bending hour of relaxation based around the handpan and a full-view digital art exploration. Don't go if you're looking for a story or an explanation. Mesmerica is designed to be an immersive experience to lose yourself in - definitely something you want to go into with an *open mind* read more

Orange Coast College Planetarium - Planetarium Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Soo... I'll address some of the negative reviews and then offer my own. The seats were fine. The sound was good, not stereophonic music hall good, but certainly fine for the Mesmerica event. I read someone's review of the seating arrangement, suggesting they could have designed the seats in rings around the center and thought that was probably a good idea, it helped me to make the decision to sit in the center of one of the rearmost rows, so I didn't have to tilt my head back as much. That was helpful. Now, having been there, I can see that for a college, and for lectures and other presentations, and even the planetarium viewing, the existing orientation is likely the most appropriate. The seats are partially reclined to assist viewing, and comfortable enough, so ultimately the seats were fine as they are. My own review: I paid $25 a seat for his event which included the bump up to VIP. That let us in early and we got our pick of seats. The venue is small, maybe 75 seats or so. I don't think anyone complained they had a bad seat. It was very much like, well... a college facility, I thought of it as "campy - cool" and really enjoyed being there. We were very pleasantly greeted at the door by two young women at a check in table, we spent al of 15 seconds there, (they were on it!) mostly to learn which way to the rest rooms and then "where to get on line". The event kicked off with (I'm guessing) a college sophomore, a young lady who did a terrific job of giving us the rules and then opening the doors to admit us. The audience was great, a mix of ages from very young children to more seasoned(like us, lol) and from the time we locked our car doors to the time we were in our seats was maybe 20 mins which included the 5 minute walk from our car. How good is that?? The show was fun, the images were interesting and some were very cool. The dialogue was uplifting, although not transformative. All in all, it was fun for what it was; a small venue, inexpensive, under an hour, "local feel", event. I noticed a young couple a few rows directly in front of us, maybe 20ish, dressed very nicely, obviously on a date, and thought "how cool for them, this was about as wholesome as it can get" and it made me smile. I probably will not need to go back, but I will recommend it as a nice, very inexpensive, easy, campy experience, which will likely make you smile in several instances, some which had nothing to do with the show itself. Easily worth doing :) read more

I went with my wife to the Orange Coast college planetarium to watch Mesmerica. Originally her girlfriend was supposed to go but couldn't make it so I went in her place. Man o' man did she dodge a bullet since this stinker deserves zero stars. It is just a bunch of computer graphic designs (like a screen saver) with dull synthesizer music playing. The narration was just new age garbage. If it had been free I would have wanted my hour back. How people give this 5 stars is beyond comprehension. As for the planetarium, it's ok. I just wish they would stick to space and science related themes. read more

A fascinating show! Took my friend as a birthday gift and we both loved it. It's hard to find something different to do for entertainment and this really fits the bill. Loved it so much I'm buying tickets for my son-in-law's birthday gift! read more

Enjoyed a great show and lecture on astronomy. Really enjoyed the enthusiasm and passion the host shared for astronomy. Feels like a fairly new facility. read more

This review is for the Mesmerica show. If I could give them 0 stars, I would. It was a complete sh!$ show! Literally. I was lucky to have been able to see it for free, but my partner paid about $40 for VIP. Let me tell you, there was nothing VIP about it. The actual auditorium itself was small and we had the worse seats. VIP does not give you any special privilege. As far as the show, it was as if you were in a trans like state with hippie music. Lots of abstract shapes with different colors spiraling and moving in different directions. It was so boring I fell asleep 10 mins into the show. Do yourself a favor, don't even waste your time seeing this. Even if you were high or drunk, it wouldn't make a difference. It really is not worth your time and day. No wonder they took down their yelp page. Orange coast college, you can do better than this. read more

Everything went wrong with this event. The seats were terrible. We got pain in our necks. The movie plays on top of your head and you can't move the seats back. Our eyes and necks were in so much pain and it was so uncomfortable. The quality of the projector was lower than a HD. There were technical difficulties twice that we had to leave the show twice without being offered a refund. Two hours drive to the event was not worth it at all. During second technical issue they announced that we could leave if we wanted or stay seated to play the remaining of the movie. They didn't suggest any refunds. Seriously even when you go to the movie theater and there's a technical difficulty they give your money back and the price of the movie theater is half the price of this show. Still no refunds. There is nothing special. It was boating and wasn't worth the drive from LA to Costa Mesa. I would give this show a zero star if I would. read more

I saw the show "We are Stars." The film ended abruptly a minute early. A woman gave a little introduction before the film, about constellations. I was very disappointed that she talked at length about the zodiac signs, and didn't mention precession or dispute astrology in any way. read more

My friends and I went to the mesmerica show at the planetarium recently. The planetarium was fine, 4 stars, bit small but otherwise seems great. We were really disappointed and expecting more from mesmerica. 1 star on that show. Idea is great, but we felt the execution fell short. Closest description I can give is it's like watching a nice screensaver while listening to elevator music for an hour. read more

I loved all the excitement of all the moving spaceships and planets on screen. I definitely recommend going to this place if some of you are bored at home all day most of the time especially during a long work/school break. The show was really cool it felt like I was in it. The little Souvenir shop/store was cool also. I loved some of the items within the store. My favorite item in the store was the spring/bobblehead alien headbands. The rest of the interior was really nice too. The only thing that I wish they had was popcorn to eat while watching the supposedly 45-minute show but overall, everything else was fantastic. The seats in the showroom were really comfortable. I was amazed of the experience I had afterward once me and my dad and some of his family all left. I would love to go back another day to go see another awesome show. It was a super shocking experience I had so if I had the option to go back there again I definitely would. The owner/manager of the building also gave me a free shark doll/plushie. I also had a lot of fun messing with the touch screen computers right outside of the theaters. read more

A visual journey into the mind, through time and space- compliments of the handpan and an open mind. Highly recommend if you're into relaxation, meditation, and spiritual growth. Just make sure you kindly use the restroom before the show begins :) read more

Not gonna lie, we were really underwhelmed. There's only a couple of things to do in the lobby while you wait for your show and honestly, none of them are worth mentioning. We watched Explore and found it boring. It was a CGI movie about the history and possible future of astronomy. The theater was really nice though and parking was free (I think because it was Saturday). I would come back if there was a non-CGI show about space. read more

This place is great. The movies obviously aren't real footage, but it's hard to use that sort of thing if you're making a movie about space. I really like how at the end of the show they told us what constellations you could see in the sky that night. Now, this certainly isn't Griffith observatory, but for a community college with free parking, it's spectacular. The lobby doesn't have a whole lot but I could've spent hours looking at the little globes with statistics. You could look at things like air traffic, shark migration patterns, or stick with the more space-y stuff. The staff are very friendly and know a lot. They can answer all kinds of questions you have for them. There's a large globe in the lobby that displays a planet, and the lady working at the time was nice enough to change it to different planets upon my child's request. I love going here and it's a great experience for a low cost. Fun for all ages! read more

We went to mesmerica last night. Gotta tell you the show is only worth 10$. Was boring that some people fell asleep. Music was exciting at the beginning but one hour , one instrument, similar pattern of music got on my nerves...it only has couple of interesting scenes but my son slept and my husband was upset I paid 100 for the show . read more