The building is historic, but some of the attractions here will captivate the most jaded video-game addict. The zodiacal 12-sided structure sits on a promontory at the end of ornamental Solidarity Drive, just up the road from the aquarium. The first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, it was founded by Sears, Roebuck and Co. executive Max Adler, who imported a Zeiss projector from Germany in 1930.

The good news for present-day visitors is that the planetarium has been updated since then. A $40 million expansion and renovation, completed in 1999, added the 60,000-square-foot Sky Pavilion, which should be your first stop. The don't miss experience is the StarRider Theater, which takes you on an interactive virtual-reality trip through the Milky Way and into deep space, featuring a computer-generated 3D-graphics projection system and controls in the armrest of each person's seat. Six high-resolution video projectors form a seamless image on the domed ceiling -- you'll feel like you're literally floating in space. If you're looking for more entertainment, the Sky Theater shows movies with an astronomical bent (Skywatchers of Africa looks at the way different African cultures have interpreted the sky, and Images of the Infinite highlights discoveries from the Hubble Telescope). The planetarium's exhibit galleries feature a variety of displays and interactive activities designed to foster understanding of our solar system and more. The best current exhibit is Bringing the Heavens to Earth, which traces the ways different cultures have tried to make sense of astronomical phenomena. The planetarium's signature exhibit, From the Night Sky to the Big Bang, traces changing views of the cosmos over 1,000 years and features artifacts from the planetarium's extensive collection of historical astronomical instruments (all of which can get a bit boring for kids unless they're real astronomy nuts).

The museum's cafe provides views of the lakefront and skyline. On the first Friday evening of the month, visitors can view dramatic close-ups of the moon, the planets, and distant galaxies through a closed-circuit monitor connected to the planetarium's Doane Observatory telescope.

Allow 2 hours, more if you want to see more than one show.