The South Carolina State Museum is bringing its planetarium show about the Northern Lights back to its dome starting Nov. 1, giving Columbia-area residents another chance to see the aurora borealis explained in cinematic detail. The 21-minute show, called Áróra, will run through Feb. 28, 2027, immersing audiences in remote Icelandic landscapes before launching them into space to unpack what causes the colorful night-sky phenomenon.
According to the Fort Mill Sun, the museum said the show's return gives residents who previously spotted the aurora in person a chance to revisit the experience and learn more about its origin. Áróra plays on the 55-foot digital dome inside the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Planetarium, which describes the production as an immersive cinematic journey across Iceland and into the cosmos.
The show doesn't stop at Earth's skies. It also covers auroras observed on other planets and moons, walking viewers through the science behind the colors that appear during these geomagnetic light shows. Áróra was created by a group of Icelandic scientists, writers, photographers and musicians, according to the museum, and has received an award for the production.
Myth, Science and a Global Story
Beyond the physics, Áróra traces how different cultures around the world have folded the Northern Lights into their folktales and mythology, according to the same museum page. The show is designed to be suitable for all ages, making it a option for families looking for an evening out that doubles as a science lesson.
The timing lines up with recent memory of the real thing. In October 2024, a geomagnetic storm that NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center classified as severe pushed vivid pink, blue and purple skies over South Carolina, according to WIS-TV. That same station reported aurora borealis sightings across the state during a solar storm earlier that year as well. The Fort Mill Sun notes that people across the Carolinas photographed red and purple auroral skies in 2024, after solar storms pushed the aurora unusually far south.
Tickets, Hours and Accessibility
Seeing Áróra requires a ticket in addition to general museum admission, since the planetarium show is sold separately. The museum sells a combination ticket covering general admission plus one planetarium or 4D theater show for $18 for adults ages 13 to 61, $16 for seniors 62 and older, and $15 for children ages 3 to 12. A standalone planetarium show ticket costs $5. Showtimes will be posted soon, and visitors can check the schedule and buy tickets through the museum's online ticket store at scmuseum.org.
The planetarium is wheelchair accessible, and the museum offers captioning and assistive listening devices for visitors who need them. The South Carolina State Museum sits at 301 Gervais St. in Columbia, roughly 80 miles down Interstate 77 from Tega Cay and Fort Mill, per the Fort Mill Sun. It's open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Mondays, and can be reached at 803-898-4921.
More to See Under the Dome and Beyond
Áróra isn't the only thing arriving at the museum Nov. 1 — Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 4D is also returning to the museum's 4D theater that day, per the Fort Mill Sun's reporting. Visitors with extra time can explore four floors of exhibitions, or head to the museum's public observatory, which features a historic 1926 Alvan Clark refracting telescope and offers daily solar viewing.
For comparison, the same planetarium also screens We Are Stars, a family-friendly show about the origins of the universe narrated by Andy Serkis with music by Rhian Sheehan, according to the South Carolina State Museum. Both shows use the same 55-foot digital dome, giving Columbia-area stargazers more than one reason to look up this winter.
