Visiting Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College with your family
This Champaign-Urbana gem is a must-stop for families who enjoy learning about our solar system
You might not know it is even there, or perhaps your child has gone on a field trip and that is all you know of our local planetarium. A quick scroll of the chambanamoms.com event calendar may pique your interest though, as you see a list of shows happening this coming weekend at the Staerkel Planetarium and decide to check it out!
Cheaper than our local movie theaters, Planetarium tickets cost $7-8 and can be bought ahead of time or at the door. The planetarium now boasts a Digistar 6 digital projection system and the first Carl Zeiss M1015 opto-mechanical star projector installed in the western hemisphere. Staerkel Planetarium is the second largest planetarium in Illinois. (Impressive, right?)
Depending on what show you choose, your experience will be a little different each time. There are often sensory-friendly shows on the calendar, or shows presented in Spanish.
“With all of our shows, we do a live tour of the night sky or we share other information from the presenter to the audience,” Staerkel director Erik Johnson said.
Kids are captivated from start to finish, lasting about 50 minutes including the stargazing. The environment is welcoming and not at all too “stuffy” or adult for children who need to express aloud their excitement and amazement at the hugeness of space and time. Questions are welcome (depending on time constrictions) but again, in our experience, if you bring a space enthusiast to Staerkel, they will have an opportunity to ask at least some of their burning questions.
Birthday parties are also possible. You’ll want to inquire directly for the specifics. We hear that the birthday child may receive complimentary astronaut ice cream!
Tips for your visit (and random facts)
- The planetarium retired its old star projector, Carl, a few years ago. He’s still there, but mostly for show. It now uses a digital projection system for most of its shows and stargazing.
- Each show lasts about an hour so you will have to wait until a few minutes prior to the show for access to the theater.
- No food or drink in the planetarium theater.
- Be sure to check out the sun glass wall, and remember to touch the meteorite!
- Younger audience members (and their parents) will be happy to know seat boosters are now available for use.
