The Sun Has Set on the Noble Planetarium

Watch a short video with scenes from “Night at the Museum”:

On August 20, 2007, Linda Krouse, director of the Noble Planetarium, hosted a special “Night at the Museum” for members of the Fort Worth Astronomical Society. The event was held at the planetarium, and it included a viewing of the special film created for the the Noble Planetarium’s 50th Anniversary event in 2005. The “Night at the Museum” was a last hurrah for club members and museum staff before the closing of the Museum for demolition and reconstruction of the new campus that is due to open late 2009 or early 2010.

Members spent the evening reminiscing about their fondest memories of the planetarium. One member, in particular, spoke about being a member of Miss Charlie Noble’s Junior Astronomy Club when he was a young boy. Some of the FWAS members had even worked at the planetarium (or still do!) and they shared some of their experiences with the group also.

Past and present staff from the Noble Planetarium are featured here. From left: Ron DiIulio, Matt McCullar, Linda Krouse, Don Garland, Shelly Garland, and Mark Usry.

Did you know this?

The Fort Worth Children’s Museum got its first planetarium in 1949. An 18-foot diameter, oblate spheroid constructed of plywood and cardboard was erected under a tent in the museum’s backyard. Under this “dome,” one of Spitz’ first instruments, a model "A," was set on casters to facilitate moving the instrument to the side of the room when not in use. The seating consisted of steel folding chairs.

When the Museum moved to its location on Montgomery Street, a new Spitz A-1 was purchased, placed under a spherical 30-foot dome of plaster, and dedicated to Miss Charlie Mary Noble. It was the first planetarium in the world to be named for a woman.

At the heart of the Noble’s astronomy programs was the Spitz A3P star projector. In conjunction with special effects projectors and a rich sound system, the star projector allowed guests of all ages to imagine memorable journeys through space and time.

When the new Museum campus opens in late 2009 or early 2010, it will feature a state-of-the-art Noble Planetarium that will be unequaled in the Southwest. The planetarium will feature the first Carl Zeiss-manufactured hybrid planetarium system—featuring not only digital and opto-mechanical projection technology, but also software that guides the audience into cosmic space in three dimensions. Planetarium visitors can look forward to a non-stop journey through space, where they will leave the Earth, roam through the solar system, exit our stellar system and the Milky Way, and enter galactic space before the structure of the universe as a whole emerges before their very eyes. This will be a visual experience that’s out of this world! The new planetarium’s queuing area will feature an exhibit area that will provide viewing screens with up-to-the-minute views of the Sun and downlinks offering the latest information from the Hubble Telescope.

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