DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLANETARIUM — CHAMBERLAIN 275 



buildings set aside or constructed for the planetarium, and some have 

 been installed in existing areas in schools, colleges, museums, and 

 observatories. 



The planetarium projectors in the more recent installations are 

 superior to the earlier models. The plastic of the dodecahedron has 

 been replaced by aluminum, and special lens- type projectors have been 

 attached for each of the first-magnitude stars, thereby vastly improv- 

 ing the appearance of the artificial sky. The control console is far 

 more comprehensive and versatile. The domes have been improved, 

 too, and some are large enough to provide seating for more than one 

 hundred people. Special planetarium benches were designed for the 

 comfort of the sky-watching audiences. 



But Armand Spitz was not satisfied with the smaller planetarium 

 instruments. During 1952-53, his organization created a new projec- 

 tor designed to be comparable to the Zeiss. In general appearance it 

 is similar, but there are several significant design modifications. As 

 in the Zeiss, the stars are produced in spheres at the two extremes 

 of the device, but in the Spitz the source of light is a unique high- 

 intensity pin-point light source cleverly fitted to reflect light rays 

 through the holes machined to represent the stars. The entire 

 projector assembly is suspended from unobtrusive cables secured 

 to the ceiling, leaving the apparently unsupported machine "floating 

 in space" with no structure between it and the floor. 



The first of the Model B projectors, as the new ones were labeled, 

 was installed at the Centro Municipal de Divulgacion Cientifica in 

 Montevideo, Uruguay. Eeports from that country since the 1954 

 opening indicate both wide public acceptance and dependable per- 

 formance of the instrument. 



Model B's are also being installed at the Flint College and Cultural 

 Development in Flint, Mich., and at the U. S. Air Force Academy 

 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Both are scheduled to be opened in 1958. 



The Flint installation is unique. The planetarium is to be a part of 

 an extensive college and community service plan that includes two 

 special-purpose theaters, an art center, a library, a transportation 

 museum and malls, reflecting pools, and donor memorials — all in- 

 tegrated in design and utility. The planetarium will be named for 

 Kobert T. Longway, one of the Flint businessmen who have been re- 

 sponsible for raising the funds for this extensive project. 



The planetarium at the Air Force Academy, like the smaller in- 

 stallations at the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U. S. Naval 

 Academy, and the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, will be utilized exten- 

 sively for teaching navigation and descriptive astronomy to the 

 cadets. It will also be used as a campus attraction for visitors, thus 

 filling the gap of major planetariums between Chicago in the east and 

 San Francisco-Los Angeles in the west. 



