‘It’s like nothing they had ever seen before’: Sacramento science museum hosts immersive Pink Floyd planetarium show

In 1973, Pink Floyd released “The Dark Side of the Moon,” which today is considered one of the most influential and critically acclaimed rock albums of all time, and by some estimates, one of the best-selling albums ever. 

With psychedelic instrumentals, hypnotic vocals, and quirky sound effects, the album explores both existential and real-world themes with classic songs such as “Us and Them,” “Eclipse,” “Brain Damage,” “Money” and “Time.” 

Now you can experience the album as never before, right here in Sacramento: The SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity is hosting “The Dark Side of the Moon,” a Pink Floyd-approved planetarium show combining the iconic music with stunning visuals that will take visitors on a journey through the solar system and beyond. The first shows were held over the weekend and will run through March of 2024.

The show aims to teach viewers about their place in the universe, according to Jeff Rodgers, the planetarium manager at the Museum of Science and Curiosity, also known as MOSAC. He added that “the timelessness of [Pink Floyd’s] music” provides the perfect soundscape for the experience.

“Pink Floyd has been specializing in sweeping things into your mind for decades,” he said.

CapRadio’s Vicki Gonzalez spoke with Rodgers about this immersive show, which made its West Coast debut at the museum over the weekend.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Gonzalez: How did the first show go? 

Rodgers: We had a few hundred people there, and they all said the same thing. It's like nothing they had ever seen before. The show runs basically the length of the album, which is 42 minutes long. Each song has its own theme and its own visuals. When you walked out the first time how were you left feeling? 

I was thrilled with the science content that they managed to build into this otherwise very trippy psychedelic journey that you go on. They built in [concepts] from the Apollo mission all the way out to the future of Mars space travel. And there's actually a good science story built into this. 

I like to tell people that if they're not careful, they may just learn something during this show, but it'll all be subconscious. We're not going to beat you over the head with a science education theme, but you can't walk away without having learned something new about your place in the universe. 

What was it about Sacramento and the Museum of Science and Curiosity that sparked it to be selected as one of the first locations on the West Coast?

You have to have the right system to be able to show this show. Pink Floyd insisted that only top-notch planetariums running the most current technology with the best sound systems would get to show this. They want it to look and sound perfect. We, being one of the newest planetariums in the country — and in the world — were right at the top of that list. 

Is this show for all ages? 

We're not going to say no to anyone. There's some [harsh] language, and it's a pretty intense show. So our recommendation is 13 and up. Although we've already seen a number of kids just in the first weekend younger than that. So long as parents understand that we're giving them that PG-13 label, they get to decide for themselves whether their [young] Pink Floyd fans need to be at the show. 

I know that you don't have a shortage of diehard Pink Floyd fans that want to take this in, but for someone who maybe not be as familiar with their music, what I'm hearing from you is this is still a really cool experience for them to take in, as well. 

If you've somehow managed not to hear the songs from “Dark Side of the Moon” over the past 50 years, it's time. You really need to hear them. 

But no, you don't need to be familiar. You don't need to be a diehard. It's almost classical music. It's like hearing Beethoven at this point. You really can't go wrong with this, even if you're not familiar with the music. It's an experience that's well worth having one way or the other. 

How have ticket sales been going?

We sold out our first 40 shows in under a week. So 4,000 people got the lucky first tranche of tickets. We expect to have the show with us through March. 

We have not released our tickets from December through spring just yet, but that'll be coming soon. So the best I can do is encourage people to keep an eye on our website or social media so they know when the tickets will be released.