Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, NC

Historic Planetarium and center for science located on campus at the University of North Carolina.

A gift from John Motley Morehead III to the University of North Carolina as a mark of his gratitude to his alma mater, the Morehead planetarium opened to the public in 1949, the first in the South and only the sixth in the United States. Designed by the same architects who planned the Jefferson Memorial, at the time it was the most expensive building ever built in North Carolina.

In 1959 the Planetarium was called to serve the space program as a means to train future astronauts in celestial navigation and it continued in this function until 1975. In 1984 Morehead was amongst the first planetariums to add computer automation to its programs and today the purpose Morehead's original gift has expanded to become the "Morehead Planetarium and Science Center''.

Located on the north end of the university's campus at Chapel Hill, facilities include the 68-foot, domed Star Theater and Zeiss Model VI Star Projector. The Center prides itself on original shows, written and produced on location at Chapel Hill. In addition to this are a multitude of classrooms and exhibits of a more broad scientific nature. There are observation decks and a reflecting telescope accompanied by gardens, galleries and a giant sundial.

Planetarium shows are shown on a multitude of different space-orientated topics, with 8000 stars projected onto the Theater's dome. Also on offer are "Science 360'' experiences. As well as space themed topics, these shows aim to bring current, newsworthy science to a broader audience and topics such as the human brain, allergies, global warming, stem cells and just what happened to Pluto.

"Science LIVE''shows are yet another interpretation of science available at the center. The emphasis here is on demonstration and live experiments in both the fields of physics and chemistry.

Continuing with the theme of education the Center offers a vast array of opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds to get involved in science at varying levels of intensity. These include sky watching sessions, family or adult classes, public lectures and opportunities to meet scientists on staff. There are after school get-togethers, science clubs for middle school children and even a Summer Camp offering half and full day sessions for children up to eighth grade.

Visitors have commented on value for money as far as the Planetarium shows are concerned and a discount that is applied for attending more than one in a day and provides even better value. Guests also remarked on the gift shop, which although small provided a satisfactory range of space related gifts. The only criticisms related to the age of some of the equipment used for narration and the dilapidated state of some of the exhibit space, although visitors did comment that this was free to access. On the whole the opinion stated was that the building itself was in need of attention although as a result of the inexpensive nature of visiting the Center, this did not detract from visitor' s opinion.