Both places are about space, both are on the "where to take a child" list, and that's where the similarities end. One is set up like a cinema with a schedule of showtimes, the other is like a regular museum that you can visit whenever you want. This is the main criterion for choosing, not the theme at all.
The difference that makes everything
The planetarium operates on showtimes. The Grand Star Hall, Small Star Hall, "Urania," and the "Lunarium" interactive space each have their own schedules. You purchase a ticket for a specific showtime and must arrive for it. If you miss the dome show, your ticket is void.
The Museum of Cosmonautics is a "come-as-you-are" type of place. Your entrance ticket is valid for the exhibition, and you can stay as long as you like within operating hours. If your child gets tired after forty minutes, you can leave, and no one has lost anything.
Here's the natural English translation: From this comes a simple rule: the younger the child, the worse the schedule works. A preschooler isn't obligated to be in a good mood at 2:30 PM, and the dome doesn't account for that.
Cosmonautics Museum: prices
The Price Museum publishes the full list, so you can calculate in advance.
Adult exhibition entry ticket — 500 ₽
Comprehensive ticket — 650 ₽, valid for 10 days from the date of purchase. This means you can visit different parts on separate days rather than trying to see everything in one go with a child.
Family Ticket — 1500 RUB for a family of four: two adults and two children. Calculating: two adult tickets already cost 1000 RUB, so children's tickets are 250 RUB each. For a family of four, this is the best price at both locations.
Discounted tickets are 350 RUB per exhibition and 450 RUB for the full tour. Full-time students are also eligible for the discounted rate. For individuals with a Group III disability, tickets are 300 RUB. The museum publishes a full list of eligible discounts separately.
Opening hours: Monday and Sunday 10:00-19:00, Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-21:00
Note that weekdays until 9 p.m. is rare for museums and a good option if you're working. Also, the museum is open on Monday, when half the city is closed.
Planetarium: What's Officially Known
Here's the translation: There's no full price list on the planetarium's website—prices are added when you select a session. The official site only lists the minimum rates: tickets from 350 ₽ and from 900 ₽—different halls have different prices.
We don't use prices from other people's posts here: session prices vary by day and time, and "it says online it's 600" isn't a fact—it's someone's old receipt.
You can say for sure: "Lunarium" is what makes this place worth visiting with a child. There are hands-on exhibits that work regardless of whether you make it to the dome or not. And the Grand Star Hall is the top-tier experience, for which tickets must be booked in advance.
How to choose
The child is under six. Museum of Cosmonautics. Free entry, can leave at any time, and the "Family" ticket for ₽1500 covers the whole group.
The child is 7-12 and loves touching everything. The *Lunarium* at the planetarium. The exhibit is age-appropriate, and that's its direct purpose.
A teenager interested in technology. The Museum of Cosmonautics: it has real spacecraft, not models.
Planning two visits in a month? A museum all-inclusive ticket for 650 ₽ for 10 days—essentially two visits for just a little over the price of one.
Monday. The Museum of Cosmonautics is open, and that settles the matter.
I want that starry sky. Only a planetarium—the museum's dome isn't there, and there's nothing to replace it.
Practical
The Museum of Cosmonautics is in the stylobate of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space by VDNKh, metro VDNKh. The Planetarium is on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, metro Barrikadnaya or Krasnopresnenskaya.
I wouldn't recommend combining them in one day—it's different ends of the city plus a timed session in between. With a child, such a day ends badly.
The museum also pairs perfectly with VDNKh itself—a day-long route around it is available, and the "Kosmos" pavilion is within easy walking distance.
What to read nearby
Other places that kids will really enjoy are collected in the guide "Moscow with Kids". And if you have a free day and budget is a concern—what you can see in Moscow for free.
Photo: Benjamín Núñez González · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons, cropped. Prices and opening hours of the Museum of Cosmonautics verified on September 2, 2026, at kosmo-museum.ru.
