The Old Dominion University Mary D. Pretlow Planetarium is located adjacent to the Chemical Sciences building, Alfriend Hall, on the main campus. 

The planetarium was named for Miss Mary Denson Pretlow at the request of the anonymous donor who presented the university with the funds to build the planetarium.

The University's Board of Visitors was receptive to naming the building after Miss Pretlow due to her thirty years of service (1917-1947) as head of the Norfolk Public Library as well as her career as a distinguished historian and librarian.

The 40-foot domed Spitz Ap-3 planetarium is used by the introductory astronomy classes and has occasional public presentations.