| Dreyfuss Planetarium History John Cotton Dana, Founding Director of the Newark Museum, believed that museums were established to promote the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the arts and sciences. Together with a group of public officials, prominent businessmen and local collectors, he established The Newark Museum in 1909 at the Newark Public Library. He provided the intellectual leadership that made it one of the most progressive cultural institutions in the country.
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"The Zeiss representative called this afternoon and I got from him much information and find myself quite enthusiastic over the possibility of having a Planetarium as part of the Museum's attractions . . . Not only would the Planetarium attract a great many not only from Newark but also from all the eastern part of the United States, it would prove also a very strong educational influence in the field of science, and of course particularly in the field of astronomy..."
John Cotton Dana Director, The Newark Museum February 17, 1927 |
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In 1923, department store mogul Louis Bamberger decided to erect a new building for the Newark Museum at his own expense. It was designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and opened in 1926. In 1927, Louis Bamberger and John Cotton Dana expressed interest in building a planetarium for the City of Newark. At the time, the sole manufacturer of planetarium equipment was German firm Zeiss. Dana proposed a five hundred seat star theater which would have occupied the space which is now the Alice Ransom Memorial Garden.
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If it had been built it would have been the very first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere (Chicago's Adler Planetarium was not built until 1930.) Unfortunately, due to the expense and space required for these instruments, acquiring such a facility for Newark was found to be impractical.
"What appealed to me was the educational value of [a planetarium]. We would be the first to give it a trial and the first in the land to have it."
John Cotton Dana Director, The Newark Museum
April 13, 1927
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The Zeiss Mark II was introduced
in 1926. |
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Armand Spitz, of the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, founded Spitz Inc.and set out to find an alternative to the large and costly Zeiss instruments in the 1940s. By 1947 he had succeeded, allowing small museums, colleges, cities and towns to obtain planetariums of their own.
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"I never expected to make any substantial contribution to astronomy or science, but what greater satisfaction can I have than to have one very famous astronomer tell me that he gained his first interest in astronomy through viewing a Spitz planetarium when he was a small boy. I can only hope that in whatever celestial book-keeping there is I will be given indirect credit for helping along the knowledge of the heavens."
Armand N. Spitz
Founder, Spitz Inc.
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The Dreyfuss Planetarium under construction.
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In 1952, through the generosity of Alice and Leonard Dreyfuss, the Museum purchased a Spitz Model A-1 planetarium projector which successfully met the need and space requirements, thereby fulfilling the wishes of Mr. Dana and Mr. Bamberger. |
"It is evident that a great service can be rendered to the citizens of Newark and the vicinity by this new acquisition which is another instrument at our command to create better understanding of the Universe around us."
Katherine Coffey
Director, The Newark Museum
1953
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Planetarium Director Ray Stein at the controls.
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The unit installed at the Newark Museum was the first in New Jersey and embodied the latest refinements in small planetarium design. After its opening on January 2, 1953, the Dreyfuss Planetarium quickly established itself as a leader among planetariums of its size and received recognition early on for the creativity and excellence of its programming.
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| Meanwhile, in Japan, other companies such as Minolta and Goto began to produce planetariums. Kazuo Tashima, founder of Minolta Co., Ltd., feared that air pollution and light pollution would block out the night sky he enjoyed so much when he was young. His quest to make the starry sky come alive again for as many young people as possible came true when Minolta completed the first Japanese star projector in 1958. |
"As a young man, Kazuo Tashima had been fascinated by the starry skies the naked eye could easily see . . . On cloudless nights, the sky was alive with stars that could set the mind dreaming. But by the late 1950s the bright lights of our big cities and the pallor of industrial pollution had combined to block out the distant formations that had guided and inspired mankind since we first learned to stand and lift our heads toward the mysterious night sky. Kazuo Tashima resolved to use modern industrial technology to restore to as many people as possible the skies that industrial development had shrouded."
Sam Kusumoto
President, Minolta
My Bridge to America
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Again, through the generosity of the Dreyfuss family, the planetarium was refurbished in 1962. The original canvas dome was replaced with a modern twenty-four foot diameter Spitz perforated aluminum dome, which remains in use today. In 1971, in response to changing technology and the fervor created by the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Planetarium was completely renovated. The original Spitz instrument was removed, and the prototype of the highly successful Minolta MS-8 series star projectors took center stage. This instrument was the first of its type in New Jersey. State-of-the-art audiovisual, special effects equipment and permanent seating was installed in the theater as well.
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The Planetarium as it appeared in the 1970's and 1980's. |
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During the Museum's four year, $21 million renovation from 1985 to 1989, the planetarium staff went "on the road" in an innovative program which brought a portable planetarium, Starlab, to classrooms throughout the state. The program was continued as an outreach program from 1990 to 1999. Exemplary interactive programming and technical improvements developed by the planetarium staff made this Starlab program extremely successful.
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In 1991, again in response to changing technologies, as well as a need to bring the theater's appearance in line with the Museum's new redesign and expansion, the Dreyfuss Planetarium underwent an extensive renovation. The latest in projection equipment, sound systems, automation and video projection, as well as new seating and interior decoration, was installed. Only the Minolta star projector and Spitz planetarium dome remained from the old theater. The automation systems for the renovated facility were designed and installed by Joe Hopkins Engineering of Bradenton, Florida and the architectural design was done by Architect Michael Graves, who was responsible for the redesign of the entire Newark Museum complex in the 1980s. Funding for the 1991 renovation was provided by the Alice and Leonard Dreyfuss Foundation, the Emil Buehler Trust, the Charles Hayden Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation and Becton Dickson & Company.
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Planetarium Director Juliann Muller |
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In 1999, the twenty eight year old Minolta MS-8 was replaced with a Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3 star projector. The State's first and only planetarium to own this incredible instrument, the Dreyfuss Planetarium offers an other-worldly experience that is further enhanced by new projection equipment, digital audio and video, computers, an additional video projector, and a Sky-Skan automation system. Funding for the 1999 renovation was provided by the City of Newark Capital Projects.
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For more information on bringing Sphaera Programs to your school, click here. |
The Museum's portable planetarium was also upgraded in 1999. Sphaera, a new type of portable planetarium dome, was purchased. The Newark Museum is the first educational institution in the United States to offer Sphaera, an exciting and unique teaching environment that brings astronomy to life. Educators bring this portable planetarium to schools, enabling students to study the cosmos in a comfortable, interactive learning environment.
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