FROM TOP: ADLER PLANETARIUM AND ASTRONOMY MUSEUM; MICHAL RONNEN SAFDIE PHOTO, COURTESY EXPLORATION PLACE;
MIKE REYNOLDS, CHABOT OBSERVATORY AND SCIENCE CENTER; AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
The Changing Face of Americas
Planetariums The largest and most-visited planetariums in the United States are out to change their offerings from simple constellation tours to immersive, interactive experiences. Chicagos Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum has been undergoing a $40 million fix-up since early last year, and will reopen in January. According to Sky Show production manager Larry Ciupik, armrest controls in Adlers new 200-seat Star Rider Theater will allow viewers to interact with the show in real time. A computer will average the viewers choices and send signals to six projectors. Adler will be the first planetarium in the world to use this new technology, originally developed for flight simulators. The theater is housed in a new 60,000square-foot building, along with new exhibits and Adlers astronomy museum. The city of Oakland, California, and its public schools have been planning to rebuild an expanded Chabot Observatory on a new site for decades. Since 1977 schoolchildren have been unable to visit Chabot because it sits on an earthquake fault line. The new Chabot Observatory and Science Center, scheduled to open next fall, will include a 270-seat planetarium, exhibits, and a Teacher Research Center, among other resources. Chabot has raised $47 million of the $69 million price tag and is seeking donors for the remainder. Rather than renovate its Hayden Planetarium, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City decided to demolish and rebuild its north side. The new Hayden will contain a 440-seat Sky Theater and a Big Bang venue, says director Neil de Grasse Tyson. The latter is currently in the design phase and, when complete, should depict the events of the universes infancy in three dimensions. Opening in 2000, the Hayden will be at the heart of the new $150-million Rose Center for Earth and Space. Tentative architectural plans for Los Angeless city-owned Griffith Observatory include a new 20,000-square-foot un-
derground facility and a refurbished
planetarium theater, says director E. C. Krupp. In separate city and county elections voters have approved bonds totaling $28 million for the upgrade. Griffith is seeking an additional $10 million in private funds. The renovations are provisionally slated to begin in 2000. Finally, a notable new facility will open to the public in the Midwest. In Kansas, Wichitas Exploration Place science museum calls its planned Star Rider Theater the Cyberdome. According to director Martin Ratcliffe, Cyberdome productions will transport audiences through outer space, inside the human body, and into other diverse realms. Ratcliffe says the $62-million complex will be operational in February 2000.
Top: The new, glass-encased, semicircular
wing of Chicagos Adler Planetarium wraps around the original building. Second from top: A model of the new Exploration Place taking shape in Wichita, Kansas. Above: In addition to its planetarium, the domes of Oaklands rebuilt Chabot Observatory and Science Center will house several telescopes. Chabots new 36-inch reflector will be one of the largest public telescopes in the U.S. Right: This cutaway view of New York Citys rebuilt Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History shows the Sky Theater at top and the Big Bang venue below.