Bays Mountain Park is home to a $1.2 million dollar state-of-the-art planetarium theater featuring a 40-foot dome, 6.1 surround sound and a Carl Zeiss ZKP-4 star projector that is so precise viewers can use binoculars to see details in two dozen deep-sky objects!
Planetarium theaters are unique in that they accurately reproduce the night sky, or any environment, under a hemispherical projection dome. Be truly immersed with imagery all about you! Starting in Spring 2021, the latest incarnation of the planetarium theater includes improvements to the ZKP-4 star projector. The main one most visible to visitors is the much brighter star field! Also installed is the 6-channel digital projection system. This means that are six Carl Zeiss VELVET LED projectors used to fill the dome with bright and colorful imagery. These specialized projectors are also the only projectors designed to provide a true black. Remember, space isn’t gray!
Public planetarium astronomy programs are geared for family audiences and are most suitable for ages 6 and above.
Rules
Planetarium theaters are unique, educational spaces and are far different than a movie theater. As such, we have some rules that are common for the planetarium theater community that we do enforce.
Food, drinks, gum, and candy are not allowed in the theater.
Also, due to safety measures, we do not allow anyone to enter the theater once the doors have closed. The theater is extremely dark inside. If you leave during a program, you cannot re-enter.
Thank you for your understanding.
School Planetarium Programs
Bays Mountain provides quality educational programming that is designed to meet the needs of grades K through college.
The Park’s scheduling is structured to accommodate school programs from September through May on the mornings and early afternoons from Tuesday through Friday. Additional dates are available during the summer. Please visit the Education area of our site for information about how to schedule a school visit and review detailed program information.
Show Production
Bays Mountain Park has a long history of quality show production for the planetarium theater. Classic format slide-based shows have been produced since the opening of Bays Mountain in 1971. Full-dome, world-class planetarium shows have been produced since 2008.
Show Leasing for Your Theater
Are you looking for an exciting program to show in your planetarium? Then look no further! Bays Mountain has many full-dome and classic format shows available for lease. Click here to learn more about show leasing options.
Directions
Directions
