Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will be presenting our exciting, family-friendly public shows on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Thursday and Friday evenings, and one Saturday afternoon each month. Visit the ‘Now Playing’ page of this website for info about the public shows currently scheduled and the times that they are offered. Watch fascinating previews of these shows on the ‘All Shows’ page of this website.

Come enjoy fascinating public shows not only about astronomy and science, but also on a wide variety of topics like dinosaurs, humpback whales, extreme weather, and many others to expand your mind and fire your imagination. Tickets can be purchased at our ticket booth on the west end of Lamar Bruni Vergara Science building near the glass pyramid.

The planetarium has a state-of-the-art projection system that projects a video image on our whole dome immersing the audience in the scene like virtual reality. We invite you to come and treat yourself to a fun and spectacular surround experience.

Make a reservation for one of our thrilling and engaging shows for all ages for your private or business group. Fun hands-on activity sessions available for school groups extend and apply concepts learned during our shows. Want to plan an amazing, kid-pleasing, out-of-this-world Birthday Party? Simply schedule a Birthday show with snacks and drinks included at special pricing for your large or small party. See our Group Visits webpage for details and click on the Reservation Form link to request a group show. Monitor our website and our Facebook page for the latest information on the public shows offered and the dates and times.

Visit the ‘On-Demand’ page of our website and take a virtual guided tour of constellations, planets, and other magnificent objects in the current sky. You can also request an emailed link to view a currently posted full-length free planetarium show and watch fascinating virtual presentations about astronomy and other topics of interest at your convenience. We look forward to welcoming you to the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium soon.
- Planetarium Director

Thank you for coming to the planetarium website. We have various family-friendly programs on astronomy and many other topics of science and interest. We are located on the Texas A&M International University campus in east Laredo. We are in the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science (LBV) building underneath a giant pyramid (picture 1) on the east side of the Tamiu campus. You can find us by entering the university on University Boulevard, following to the east until it ends, and turning right onto East Loop Drive (picture 2). Then, drive past the city ball courts on your left until you get to the first place to turn right (picture 3), go towards the center of the east side of the TAMIU campus, and find a parking place (picture 4). The planetarium is at the West end of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center, which is just closer to the center of campus than the AIC building with the very tall tower. (See Map.)

Map link: <https://www.tamiu.edu/map.shtml>.

The entrance is through the small tower with silver tiles covering its sides. If you enter the doors (picture 5), it is on your left past the entrance.

Free Telescope Viewing of the Total “Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipse at TAMIU on Friday, March 14^th from 12:09 a.m. to 3:47 a.m.

Calling stargazers of all ages! Join us for a Total Lunar Eclipse Watch Party open to the public on Friday, March 14, 2025 on the grounds of Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) that will be held in the parking lot on the right side of TAMIU’s Zaffirini Student Success Center from 12:09 a.m. to 3:47 a.m. Children attending will receive a free “Eclipse Expert” certificate to personalize and a free “Total Lunar Eclipse” headband (crown) as mementos of this awesome event

“The exciting total “blood moon” lunar eclipse that will be visible in Laredo after midnight on Friday, March 14^th is an uncommon event.” Peter Davis, Director of TAMIU’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium stated. “It will be four years until the next total lunar eclipse will be visible in South Texas on June 26, 2029,” he added.

“You are invited to see a close-up view of the magnificent red-orange full Moon through the Planetarium’s Celestron 9.25-inch telescope and through the Planetarium’s binoculars during this eclipse, Bring jackets and lawn chairs to keep you warm and comfortable as you and your family members relax and enjoy watching the stages of this eclipse,” Davis said.

“We can only experience a total lunar eclipse when the Earth is perfectly positioned directly between the Sun and a full moon, casting a shadow on the Moon’s surface. It is called a “Blood Moon” because as the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, it undergoes a color-shifting process giving it a striking red-orange appearance,” Davis stated.

“Even though the Earth blocks sunlight from directly reaching the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, our planet's atmosphere still bends sunlight to indirectly light up the lunar surface. It’s as if all the world’s red-orange-colored sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon," Davis explains.

Photo credit: NASA website/NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

www.tamiu.edu/planetarium/showschedule.shtml or the Planetarium’s Facebook page at facebook.com/txamiu.planetarium.

For a campus map visit www.tamiu.edu/map.shtml.

For more information, visit the Planetarium’s webpage at www.tamiu.edu/planetarium, call the TAMIU Planetarium Director, Peter Davis, at 956.326.3128, or email planetarium@tamiu.edu.

Director’s Message

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium is a community outreach of Texas A&M International University serving the students and public of south Texas. We live in an extraordinary age of exploration of our universe. Our goal is to fire the imaginations of young people about discovering the wonders of life on our earth, the wonders of our universe, and the fascinating journey of scientific discovery, encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM areas. We also endeavor to inform and entertain the public with shows featuring many of the fascinating places in our universe that are being discovered every day. We do this with our state-of-art projection system that immerses our audience, surrounding them completely with a spectacular audio-visual extravaganza. Come explore the universe with us at the speed of imagination!

TAMIU's Amazing Planetarium: A Virtual Tour

Enjoy an exciting behind-the-scenes virtual tour of TAMIU's Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Get a close-up look at the planetarium's state-of-the-art Digistar 5 projection system and the impressive digital technology utilized to project stunning 360-degree immersive video on its large dome, which is housed in an eye-catching glass pyramid with a gold pinnacle. Experience this fascinating video tour!

About Us

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, named after a Laredo philanthropist, opened to public in April 2005. At that time, it was one of only 14 new-generation Digistar 3 digital projectors in the United States. The 40 foot dome of the planetarium is inside a four-sided glass pyramid topped with a gold leaf pinnacle. The glass pyramid planetarium building is a shining beacon at Texas A&M International University, and is one of the foremost attractions of Laredo. The Planetarium was upgraded in 2014 to a state-of-the-art Digistar 5 projection system from one of the leading planetarium manufacturing companies in the world which can show the view from any part of the known universe. One of the most sophisticated planetariums in the State of Texas, this system has two 4K digital projectors that display a 360˚ video image on our 40 foot dome that is 8 times the resolution of 1080i HD television. Eight to ten times brighter than the previous projection system, this system immerses the audience in a truly spectacular visual environment with great depth of field and rich colors which has to be seen to be appreciated! The upgraded 5.1 surround sound system provides an immersive auditory experience, truly making you feel that you are there, whether on an alien planet, deep in space, or somewhere here on earth.

To get an idea what it is like to be immersed in a video show extravaganza at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium please click on our planetarium commercial link below.