Virginia Air & Space Science Center — Attraction in Hampton

Recently went to the Mesmerica IMAX showing at this location. I was a bit hesitant as I have heard the IMAX equipment here is outdated and you're better off going to AMC for movies. Well, the next closest IMAX theater showing Mesmerica was VA Beach, so I decided to give it a shot.

Man, was I disappointed. It was $20 a ticket, which was a bit much for only a 40 minutes show. But if it's a good enough show, not a huge deal. Getting there 15-20 minutes early wasn't enough time to get a couple seats together that wasn't in the 3rd row and all the way to one side, as it is general admission. I was lucky as some of those that entered only a few minutes before the showing had to sit in seats on which it was dripping from one of several leaks coming from the ceiling.

I wasn't impacted by the leaky roof and getting there earlier was something I could have helped, so I won't hammer those points. The real kicker though halfway through, the projector got messed up and began displaying pixelated red lines across the entire picture. For any movie this would be an issue, but this particular movie was about feeling mesmerized and lost in the beautiful imagery and music. It ruined the mood completely. After 10 minutes or so, the pixilation subsided but shortly after the picture jolted and became out of focus for the remainder of the showing. I thought the movie was great, but for the cost, I would have wanted to enjoy it without any of these hiccups. I won't be returning here for any more showings until they upgrade/ repair the theater and equipment.

Edit: in response to VASC comment, you misread my review. I went to your location in Hampton because VA Beach was too far. I am not sure why you don’t think this was your movie, it showed at your IMAX theater located at 600 Settlers Landing Rd in Hampton VA...

Apollo 12 is a must-see for space fans, but the scope, pricing, and maintenance of this museum leaves a lot to be desired.

Perhaps it is simply the off-season, or poor timing, or I'm not the target audience, but as great as it is to see Apollo 12 and other sorts of interesting aerospace history like the YF-16 and the F-18 HARV, there are a few (mostly maintenance) issues with this museum.

Coming from the larger DC museums, it can hardly be described as a "large" location. This is a smaller location outfitted for field trips and group activities rather than museum-goers, and is largely kid-focused (not always a bad thing). There are a few pieces of unique history here that people should not miss, but equally a lot of video-game distractions that anyone could play anywhere for free, likely with more functional controls.

The admission price is not unbelievable, but I would not call it a "bargain", even with the "free IMAX" inclusion. The concession prices and quality are quite poor. At least one bathroom faucet was broken loose in its mountings, and the other one did not function.

The IMAX theater is quite well maintained and reasonable, the projectors work as they should, and the 3D calibration is very good, overall a reasonable experience, but quite obviously a padding technique to keep you in the building longer.

I personally cannot get enough of space/aerospace history, so I find it hard not to recommend this location, but for the average visitor, it might be mildly underwhelming. Maybe it is a better value with a membership for the local visitors who want to bring their kids in to a fun locale for the weekend, or teachers who want a...

We definitely enjoyed our visit! Our girls are 13 and 12 for reference. We all enjoyed the Asteroid Hunters IMAX movie that was included in admission. It was a perfect length - about 45 minutes - the 3D was impressive, and the film itself was truly interesting and inspiring. I was ready to join NASA to help find asteroids by the end of it! We all were "wowed" looking at all the planes suspended from the ceiling and learning about each one based on the displays. The space exploration displays captivated us as well - especially seeing how tiny the Apollo capsules were and how three astronauts spent a lot of time in close quarters! Our girls and specifically my husband also had fun with the interactive video-game type exhibits (moon lander, mars lander, build your own solar system, gravity game, etc). It was a little bit of a bummer that many of the interactive aspects were not working correctly or open (the "your weight on other planets" specifically and some of the games, as well as the robotic lab) but I also suspect that has something to do with short staffing as we visited on a weekday. We spent more than 2 hours here exploring, though, and our teenagers were engaged the whole time. Everyone gave it...