Space is daunting. But I didn’t realise quite how unfathomably huge it was until I wandered through deep space during the Smithsonian Starstruck experience. The brand new immersive and interactive adventure allows attendees to see what lies in wait for us in deep space, how it all affects our world, and what will happen in millions of years. All from the comfort of London’s gorgeous Science Museum.

First, sat in a waiting room, I, along with a number of other wannabe space explorers, watched a screen until our names and numbers were displayed along with a deafening “DING”. Then, we were ushered into the experience; our time to journey through the universe had arrived.

After being handed a virtual reality (VR) headset and being taught how it worked by the hugely helpful and nice staff, Iyi & Billy, my group all jacked into the Matrix and blasted off onto our journey.

As soon as the Smithsonian Starstruck experience started I was daunted even more. Looking up, we were met with a life-size, photo-realistic version of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Our ethereal host, Astro, floated around the group (about five people), telling us all about the telescope, before casually suggesting we see space without the device.

What followed literally dropped my jaw. We shot through space and were greeted by various parts of the universe – close enough for us to touch them.

Throughout the 45minute journey (which is also coming to Manchester’s Northern Quarter on August 6, 2026) we were up-close and personal with some incredible planets, stars and features. We walked around limited areas of the room, touching stars, picking up telescopes and spinning objects.

From Janssen to Betelgeuse (my favourite), I learned all about the far-off celestial beings, how stars are born in the Pillars of Creation, what happens when they die, and how it all affects us, humans, on Earth.

After that we watched a star explode, start a black hole, and witnessed matter get torn up and sucked into its harrowing vacuum of nothingness. What a way to make your existence feel small, am I right?

All of Smithsonian Starstruck was made even more impressive and incredible through the VR headset. The device was the best I’ve ever personally used.

Upon mounting it onto my head, its lenses automatically moved to focus in on my eyes. The speakers sat just above my ears were loud enough to hear Astro’s tour, and clear enough that I didn’t miss any of the fidelity within the soundscapes.

What’s more, the headset’s outward sensors tracked my hands. I could point and wave and click buttons throughout the experience without using any kind of paddle or gloves. This feature also came in useful to wave at my fellow intergalactic travellers.

Speaking of which, while the experience is for everyone aged 10-years-old and up, I did have a few children in my group and although they audibly enjoyed jetting across the cosmos, they seemed to lose interest towards the middle of the journey.

While I, and other attendees, were fascinated and enthralled by the detail and sheer scale of everything, the littler ones struggled to comprehend the scale of the galaxy were waiting for the next interactive portion of the event. Perhaps a better one to take tweens and teens.