If you grew up in the Bay Area, you may be one of the lucky young students who had an opportunity to visit the Charles F. Hagar Planetarium at SF State on a field trip. This small but mighty planetarium accommodates 45 visitors for live shows that simulate the night sky as viewed from anywhere on Earth, sped backward and forward in time to give insight into the patterns of motions of celestial bodies. The planetarium has served approximately 100,000 people since it opened in 1973, with 1,800 people visiting annually. Many are SF State Physics & Astronomy students, but more than 1,000 students, faculty, and staff from outside the department, community members, or local K-12 school children visit each year.
While the planetarium is small, the shows are...stellar: “When we dim the lights and the stars come on, you can just hear the gasps all through the room,” said Physics & Astronomy undergraduate Sergio Lopez of the public planetarium shows he presents in Spanish at SF State’s Charles F. Hagar Planetarium.
Students like Sergio are continuing the legacy begun by Astronomy Professor Charles Hagar when he designed the planetarium (and observatory) 50 years ago. While the planetarium is still active, Planetarium and Observatory Director Adrienne Cool knew that it could not continue to successfully serve the community without an overhaul and modernization. In 2018, she began efforts to raise $1.5M to provide it with state-of-the-art equipment and renovate. At the end of last year, she got word from the Heising-Simons Foundation that her proposal for funding had been accepted, with the Foundation committing the entire $1.5M to the planetarium.
Professor of Physics and Astronomy Adrienne Cool gives a demonstration to an elementary school class
“It became obvious to us pretty quickly what an amazing asset the planetarium has been, not only for SF State, but the larger Bay Area,” said Jochen Marschall, Director of the Heising-Simons Science Program. “It serves so many functions so well—as a unique teaching facility for SF State students, a training ground for the next generation of STEM educators, a resource for local schools, teachers and students, and a powerful tool for bringing science to the community.”
The Heising-Simons Foundation is a family foundation with offices in Los Altos and San Francisco that works with its partners to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of the youngest learners, and support human rights for all people.
"It means so much that the Heising-Simons Foundation understood what we do and why it matters,” says Adrienne. “This planetarium has inspired so many young people to look up, to ask questions, and to pursue their dreams. With this donation, whole new vistas will open up. Our students couldn't be more excited."
The Heising-Simons gift will fund the replacement of the planetarium’s 50-year-old projector with a state-of-the-art one that projects an accurate representation of the night sky with 9,500 stars, details of the Milky Way, and more. Complementing the star projector will be a full-dome video projector that will depict virtual trips through the solar system, Milky Way, and beyond, and display images from the James Web Space Telescope and other observatories. A new dome will also be constructed, as well as new control and audio systems, lighting, and seating.
With the new equipment and renovations, the planetarium will be able to continue its work training astronomers and educators for another 50 years. “We’re proud of the fact that this planetarium has provided a training ground and a community for so many people and that so many have gone on to become science educators in the Bay Area and beyond,” Adrienne says.
The network of former students who have trained in the planetarium is large and diverse, with alumni working in science museums, astronomy outreach organizations, and other planetariums around the country. Vivian White, the director of free-choice learning at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, got her start in astronomy education by giving shows in the planetarium as an undergraduate. “My biggest love is for the night sky, thanks to that planetarium,” she said.
Until construction begins, the planetarium, located in room 422 in Thornton Hall, will continue to host educational programming. A free show is open to the public on Fridays at 12:30. For more information about the planetarium visit: physics.sfsu.edu/planetarium.
To donate to the planetarium or learn more about funding opportunities at the College of Science & Engineering, please contact Holly Fincke at hollyfincke@sfsu.edu.
