Dept. of Physics & Astronomy & Hagar Planetarium

Transforming SF State's Hagar Planetarium into a 21st Century Hub for STEM Education and Outreach

The Charles F. Hagar Planetarium has served SF State and the Bay Area for more than 50 years. Over 100,000 SF State students, San Francisco school children, and members of the public have experienced the beauty of the night sky and witnessed the Milky Way as it appears far from city lights in this unique facility nestled in the heart of Thornton Hall. Through interactive experiences in labs, school shows and public shows, they have had their questions about the planets, stars, and the Universe answered. For decades, the planetarium has also been an inspiring training ground for hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students interested in astronomy education and outreach -- many of whom have gone on to careers as science educators in the Bay Area and beyond.

Help us build on this proud legacy by supporting our planned renovation!

To create a stimulating space that inspires SF State students for the coming decades and provide a modern training ground to attract and prepare Bay Area STEM educators, we are embarking on a complete renovation of the planetarium beginning this summer. As part of this, a new state-of-the-art star projector is coming to us from Zeiss in Germany.

To make the planetarium a 21st-century facility, one more critical piece is needed.

The refurbished planetarium we envision will also feature full-dome video projection. Visitors will not only be able to see the night sky as it appears from Earth, they will also be able to travel to other planets and fly through the Milky Way and beyond using immersive video that covers the entire dome. SF State student presenters who train in the planetarium will be using of state-of-the-art NASA-sponsored software that incorporates images and data from the latest telescopes and satellites. But we need the hardware to go with it!

With your help, we will add this critical modern capability while preserving the intimate and interactive qualities that set SF State's planetarium apart, in order to

• provide student-centered STEM education for hundreds of SF State students annually
• train a diverse group of STEM educators to serve the Bay Area and beyond by giving them access to stimulating modern equipment that will excite their creativity
• provide tailored, interactive experiences for school children of all ages making use of meaningful and memorable imagery to capture their imagination
• provide free live, interactive shows for the public in both English and Spanish that incorporate the latest astronomical discoveries
• shine a light on the climate crisis from an astronomical perspective