90 Years of Stellar Connections

The Adler’s original Zeiss Mk II projector was the first machine of its kind to operate before the public in the Western hemisphere. A scientific and technological marvel on its own, it brought together millions of people under the Planetarium’s dome. Newer technologies have long replaced it, but our sky shows and dome presentations still serve the same purpose: to share the wonders of the universe with whoever comes into the Adler’s theaters

In the 1960s, American interest in the space race continued, inspiring many amateur astronomers to join the long-existing amateur telescope movement. Opened in 1952, the Adler’s optical shop became a living exhibit in 1960 where visitors could learn how to grind and polish their own telescope mirrors. The optical shop remained a popular attraction until its closure in 1999. Many other programs have since continued to engage visitors of all ages and backgrounds with hands-on science.

This photograph was taken outside the Adler Planetarium during a public event to observe the lunar eclipse of July 16, 1981. Planetariums are often regarded as substitutes for the real sky, whose wonders tend to get lost in the light-polluted environment of urban areas. But there is always something up there to explore, and the Adler has long been a place where everyone is invited to look up, indoors as well as outside.

In the mid-1990s, the Adler embarked on an ambitious exhibit project that resulted in the opening of the CyberSpace gallery in 2001. Boasting fiber-optic Internet hookups, high-resolution TV screens, and virtual reality booths, CyberSpace promised to connect the Planetarium and its visitors with the whole world while keeping up-to-date with the constant influx of new scientific information. While Cyberspace was replaced with even more exciting experiences for our guests, the Adler has never ceased to keep pace with the latest technologies and to explore their potential to connect people with and around space science, at the Planetarium and beyond.

Even if you cannot come to the Planetarium, the Planetarium will come to you! In this photograph an Adler staff member shares the joy of looking through a telescope with three young viewers, in the context of the 'Scopes in the City program. Since 2014 more than 140 'Scopes in the City events have thrilled almost 11,000 people with telescope views of our daytime and nighttime sky. This program has been taking telescopes to Chicago neighborhoods, inviting anyone walking by to look up and chat about what is on view.

Once the abode of a conspicuous Zeiss Mk II machine, now equipped with an unobtrusive set of in-built projectors, the Adler's main dome here serves as a cosmic dance floor for the event "Adler After Dark: A Night in the Afro-Future 2.0" on February 20, 2020. The Planetarium constantly reinvents itself in order to become ever more appealing to an audience as broad and diverse as possible, while upholding its foundational mission of connecting people to the Universe and to each other.