About the Charles Hayden Planetarium
The Museum of Science, Boston has long played a key leadership role in the field of earth and space science education. In 1948, Museum President Brad Washburn designed and built the first traveling planetarium in New England to promote the development of the new Museum. On October 20, 1958, Floyd Blair of the Charles Hayden Foundation threw the switch to light the stars in New England's first major planetarium at our Museum of Science. Over the ensuing 50 years, millions of patrons have been introduced to the wonders of the universe at the Charles Hayden Planetarium.
The Planetarium reproduces the night sky for any location on Earth, on any day in the past or future, creating a view that simulates the three-dimensional sky. It can accurately reproduce the apparent motions and cycles of the sky in time-lapse fashion, to demonstrate processes that occur over time. More significantly, the Planetarium creates a highly immersive environment.
These unique strengths enable the Planetarium to present information in ways that other media cannot. With the planned renovations, the Planetarium's potential as an educational venue will be vastly increased, and the Planetarium will engage visitors across the spectrum of science and technology topics.