Hayden Planetarium

Hayden Planetarium. The Hayden Planetarium is a part of the American Museum of Natural History and is located in Manhattan, New York City, near Central Park. It was founded by Charles Hayden and has been a major center for astronomy and space exploration education, with notable speakers such as Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The planetarium has also been involved in various NASA missions, including the Voyager program and the Mars Exploration Program with Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology.

● History

The Hayden Planetarium was opened in 1935, with Fiorello La Guardia as the Mayor of New York City at the time, and was named after Charles Hayden, a banker and trustee of the American Museum of Natural History. The planetarium was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston and engineers Starrett & van Vleck, with a Zeiss planetarium projector, and was one of the first major planetariums in the United States, following the example of the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The planetarium has hosted many notable events, including lectures by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Stephen Hawking, and has been involved in various space agencies' missions, including those of European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency. The planetarium has also collaborated with other institutions, such as the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

● Architecture

The Hayden Planetarium is a large, spherical building that is part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space, which also includes the Hall of the Universe and the Hall of the Earth, designed by architects Rafael Viñoly and Davis Brody Bond. The planetarium's design was influenced by the work of Buckminster Fuller and Eero Saarinen, and features a large, dome-shaped screen that is used for digital planetarium shows, with technology from Evans & Sutherland and Sky-Skan. The building's design has been praised for its innovative use of materials and its sustainable features, which were developed in collaboration with the United States Green Building Council and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The planetarium's architecture has also been influenced by the work of other notable architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, and has been recognized with awards from the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

● Exhibits

The Hayden Planetarium features a variety of exhibits on astronomy and space exploration, including a large collection of meteorites and a display on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), with contributions from the SETI Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. The planetarium also features a large, scale model of the universe, which was designed by American Museum of Natural History staff and NASA scientists, and includes data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The planetarium's exhibits have been developed in collaboration with other institutions, such as the National Air and Space Museum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the California Academy of Sciences. The planetarium has also hosted temporary exhibits on topics such as black holes and dark matter, with contributions from CERN and the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

● Public Programs

The Hayden Planetarium offers a variety of public programs, including lectures and workshops on astronomy and space exploration, with speakers such as Brian Greene and Lisa Randall. The planetarium also offers stargazing events on the roof of the Rose Center for Earth and Space, with telescopes provided by the American Museum of Natural History and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The planetarium's public programs have been developed in collaboration with other institutions, such as the University of Chicago, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the Kavli Foundation. The planetarium has also partnered with other organizations, such as the Planetary Society and the Space Telescope Science Institute, to offer programs on topics such as asteroids and comets.

● Directors and Staff

The Hayden Planetarium has been led by several notable directors, including Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is also the host of the Podcast StarTalk, and Dennis Overbye, a science writer for the New York Times. The planetarium's staff includes a team of astronomers and educators who develop and lead the planetarium's programs and exhibits, with contributions from NASA and the National Science Foundation. The planetarium has also been supported by a variety of trustees and advisors, including Charles Hayden and Henry Kravis, who have helped to shape the planetarium's mission and direction. The planetarium's staff has also collaborated with other institutions, such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the California Institute of Technology.

● Renovations and Upgrades

The Hayden Planetarium has undergone several renovations and upgrades over the years, including a major renovation in the 1990s that added a new digital planetarium system, with technology from Barco and Dome3D. The planetarium has also upgraded its projection system to include 3D and virtual reality capabilities, with contributions from Google and the MIT Media Lab. The planetarium's renovations have been supported by a variety of donors and sponsors, including Charles Hayden and the National Science Foundation, and have helped to keep the planetarium at the forefront of astronomy and space exploration education, with partnerships with SpaceX and the Blue Origin. The planetarium's upgrades have also included the development of new exhibits and programs, such as the Hall of the Universe and the Cosmic Perspective series, with contributions from the American Museum of Natural History and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Category:Planetariums