Nagoya City Science Museum — World's Largest Planetarium

Nagoya City Science Museum (名古屋市科学館) houses the world's largest planetarium dome — a 35-meter diameter sphere that dominates the museum's exterior like a metallic planet. The planetarium, called Brother Earth, seats 350 and projects 9 million stars with optical precision using a Carl Zeiss Universarium IX star projector combined with digital fulldome video. The 50-minute programs blend live narration (Japanese only, but visuals transcend language) with cutting-edge astronomy visualizations.

Beyond the planetarium, the museum features hands-on science exhibits across six floors: tornado and aurora simulations, -30°C polar environment room, 9-meter artificial lightning demonstrations, and physics exhibits explaining principles through interactive experiments. The museum targets families and school groups but offers enough depth for adult science enthusiasts, particularly in the earthquake simulator and extreme weather exhibits.