No rocket needed: Smithsonian Starstruck brings 3D space experience to Chicago

Chicago visitors will soon be able to travel through the cosmos without leaving the city. Smithsonian Starstruck: An Immersive Experience is a 3D, shared virtual reality attraction that opened in October 2026 at Fever Hub Chicago, inside Germania Place.

Developed with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the experience turns real astronomical data and scientific research into an interactive journey through space, the website confirms. Visitors begin at Earth-based observatories before boarding digital versions of the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Subscribe to Chicago Star’s Weekly City Buzz Newsletter

A journey from the Sun to distant stars

One segment takes visitors to the Sun, where they can see solar flares described as 30 times larger than Earth, according to the website. The experience also includes sounds based on the Sun’s vibrations and energy captured by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which made the closest-ever pass to the star and remains operational.

Another stop features Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star. Guests can watch the star explode in a supernova, an event that recycles stellar material into the elements that help form future stars, planets and potentially life.

The virtual journey also moves through distant cosmic destinations, including exoplanets, the Pillars of Creation and a black hole. A virtual guide named Astro leads groups through the three-dimensional universe, according to Fever.

Read more on Chicago Star

• Ready, set, blastoff! SpaceX launches Starship into orbit for the first time

• Chicago keeps bringing the heat! O’Hare sets summer record with 25 million travelers 

• Holiday shopping has arrived: Chicago Artisan Market returns to Fulton Market & Ravenswood

• The Nutcracker brings holiday spirit to The Langham with themed tea, suite & spa treatments 

• Light the World Giving Machines to add holiday cheer to Chicago’s season of giving

• Chicago winter haters can rejoice as the Windy City predicted to have less snow this year 

What Chicago visitors need to know

The experience lasts about an hour, including approximately 40 minutes in virtual reality. Groups of up to six people participate together, wearing lightweight wireless headsets and moving through the digital environment.

Fever Hub Chicago is located on the third floor of Germania Place at 108 W. Germania Place. Guests should arrive 15 minutes early so staff can fit the headset, discuss accessibility accommodations, and answer questions before the experience begins.

The attraction is recommended for visitors ages 10 and older. Ticket options are available through Fever, while group bookings can accommodate school trips, youth programs, company outings, family gatherings and private celebrations.

According to the Smithsonian Starstruck, the production took more than two years to develop, bringing together storytellers, artists, animators, developers, inclusive-design specialists and astrophysicists. The result is designed as a space documentary that visitors can enter rather than simply watch.