International Leaders
The staff of the Lawrence Hall of Science Planetarium have developed an international reputation as leaders in the design of audience-participation planetarium programs. Over 55 million people have explored the skies through planetarium programs developed here at LHS and offered at 220+ planetariums nationwide.
The Planetarium is the proving ground for the Planetarium Activities for Student Success (PASS) project, which develops, tests, and disseminates audience-participation programs to planetariums worldwide.
The NEW Planetarium!
First constructed in 1973 with a GOTO Mercury opto-mechanical star projector, the Planetarium moved into a new, larger space in October 2009 with an all-digital projection system! We now use a Digitarium Epsilon fulldome video projector, with the option of running either the Digitalis Edition of Stellarium or DigitalSky2 from Sky-Skan, Inc. Fulldome video allows images, video clips, and other visuals to be seen anywhere on the dome. Visitors can see the sky from anywhere and anytime on Earth, but we can also even "leave" Earth and "fly" throughout the Solar System and throughout the Universe!The setup of the planetarium includes:
- Digitarium Epsilon projector capable of running Stellarium or DigitalSky 2
- 9-meter (30-foot) negative-pressure Geodesic Pacific Dome
- 45-person capacity in two rows of bench seats with reclined backs, with wheelchair access
- Sound system by Pro Home systems, using Meyer Sound components