The bet36365体育 Planetarium is a 60-seat public science theater serving the bet36365体育 community, area schools, and the general public. Set under a 30-foot dome, the Zeiss star projector can show the sky as it would be seen from any place on the Earth at any time (past, present, or future) including the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and more than 7,000 stars. The Planetarium's state-of-the-art sound, lighting and control systems are used to create educational multimedia programs on astronomy and other topics.
The current bet36365体育 Planetarium was built in 2008 and completed in 2009 as part of 14 million-dollar state project to renovate and modernize the existing Bruner Hall of Science. The star projector for the new facility was funded by a generous NASA Education Grant. The old planetarium was located in the basement of Mary Morse Lecture Hall; not being ADA compliant, the old facility was no longer adequate for community outreach.