Arlington Planetarium, Arlington

The David M. Brown Planetarium is an educational facility operated by Arlington Public Schools (APS). Located on the campus of Washington-Liberty High School, the planetarium opened in September 1969 and was renamed in 2008 in memory of Captain David M. Brown, a Yorktown High School graduate and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

The planetarium primarily serves students during school hours, while scheduled public programs are organized through a partnership between the school system and the nonprofit volunteer group Friends of Arlington’s Planetarium. The facility uses a digital full-dome projection system to display the night sky and present educational journeys through space. A major renovation completed in 2012 introduced the Spitz SciDome HD system. Following a closure beginning in November 2019 for construction at the adjacent Washington-Liberty High School campus, extended by the pandemic, the planetarium reopened in late 2022 with a state-of-the-art fisheye projection system, later upgraded to Digistar 2025 high-resolution software.

Programs cover astronomy topics including stars, constellations, planets, the Moon, black holes, atmospheric phenomena, and space exploration. School presentations are aligned with the APS science curriculum and are offered on weekdays. Public programs take place on selected weekends and include full-dome films, live "Stars Tonight" presentations, guest lectures, science demonstrations, and scout programs. Because the schedule and ticket availability vary throughout the year, visitors should consult the current online calendar before planning a visit.