Chabot Space and Science Center

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View of the entrance of the Chabot Space and Science Center.
View of the entrance of the Chabot Space and Science Center.

Chabot Space and Science Center, located in Oakland, California, is a hands-on center featuring interactive exhibits, a digital planetarium, a large screen theater, hands-on activities and three powerful telescopes.

The Center is the continuation and expansion of a public observatory that has served San Francisco Bay Area schools and citizens with astronomy and science education programs for over 123 years.

Contents

[edit] History

The sign at the entrance of the Chabot Space and Science Center.
The sign at the entrance of the Chabot Space and Science Center.

The institution began in 1883 as the Oakland Observatory, through a gift from Anthony Chabot to the City of Oakland.[1] The original Oakland Observatory was located in downtown Oakland and provided public telescope viewing for the community. For decades, it also served as the official timekeeping station for the entire Bay Area, measuring time with its transit telescope.

The observatory moved to its Mountain Boulevard location in 1915 due to increasing light pollution and urban congestion. In the mid-1960s, the facility was expanded considerably. Throughout this time, the Chabot Science Center, as it was renamed, was staffed mainly by Oakland Unified School District personnel and volunteers. In 1977, seismic safety concerns terminated public school students’ access to the original observatory facility. The observatory building remained open to the general public, but school activities were limited to outlying classroom buildings and the planetarium.

Wightman Observatory Plaza at the current location.
Wightman Observatory Plaza at the current location.

Recognizing the need to restore full access to the facility, either by repair or relocation, in 1989 Chabot Observatory & Science Center was formed as a Joint Powers Agency with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Unified School District, and the East Bay Regional Park District, in collaboration with the Eastbay Astronomical Society, and in 1992 was recognized as a nonprofit organization. The project was led by Chabot's Executive Director and CEO, Dr. Michael D. Reynolds, breaking ground for the facility in October 1996 with construction of the new 88,000 square foot Science Center beggining in May 1998.

In January 2000, anticipating the opening of the new facility, the organization changed its name from Chabot Observatory & Science Center to Chabot Space & Science Center. The new name was chosen to better convey the organization's focus on astronomy and the space sciences, while communicating both the broad range and the technologically advanced nature of programs available in the new Science Center.

Opened August 19, 2000, the new Chabot Space & Science Center is an 86,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art science and technology education facility on a 13-acre site in the hills of Oakland, California.

[edit] Attractions

Aside from its telescopes, it contains:

  • The Ask Jeeves Planetarium, a "full dome digital projection system" with various shows running daily.[2]
  • The Tien MegaDome Theater, a 70-foot dome screen auditorium with various shows running daily.[3]
  • The Challenger Learning Center, a hands-on simulated space mission environment where 8 teams work together to complete a mission.[4]
  • Many changing exhibits, full of hands-on displays, that highlight space and science topics. As of August 18, 2006, there are nine open exhibits.[5]

[edit] Telescopes

Chabot's 8-inch telescope, Leah.
Chabot's 8-inch telescope, Leah.
Chabot's meridian transit telescope.
Chabot's meridian transit telescope.
Chabot's 20-inch telescope, Rachel.
Chabot's 20-inch telescope, Rachel.

Chabot Space and Science Center has three observatory telescopes. "Leah", an 8" refractor telescope, was built in 1883 by Alvan Clark and donated by Anthony Chabot.[6] "Rachel" is a 20" refractor telescope, commissioned in 1914 from Warner & Swasey, with optics by John Brashear.[7] It is the largest refractor in the western United States regularly open to the public. "Nellie" is a 36" reflecting telescope which opened in June 2003 and is housed in a rolling roof observatory.[8]

The telescopes are available for free public viewing on Friday and Saturday evenings, weather permitting. See the observatory website for hours and special closures.[9]

[edit] Observatory quick facts

  • Original Observatory built: 1883, Downtown Oakland, California
  • Second Observatory built: 1915, at Mountain Boulevard
  • Third (Present) Observatory built: 2000, at Skyline Boulevard

[edit] Telescope statistics

Leah


Meridian Transit Telescope

  • Type - Transit telescope
  • Maker - Fauth & Co., 1885
  • Aperture – 4 inches
  • Focal Length –
  • Mount – Double Pier Transit
  • Usage Intent – popular and educational use / time determination


Rachel


Nellie




[edit] Planetarium

Chabot's Ask Jeeves Planetarium
Chabot's Ask Jeeves Planetarium

The Ask Jeeves Planetarium seats 240 people under a 70-foot diameter dome, and features live weekly shows and daily pre-recorded "full-dome" shows. The weekly live shows are presented by a staff astronomer.

  • Live Shows:

Immersive Space (Fridays, 8pm) takes advantage of the American Museum of Natural History's "Digital Universe" to give live fly-throughs of the cosmos. Topics include the solar system, the lives of stars, the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and general cosmology. Approximately 45 minutes.

Space NOW (Saturdays, 2:30pm) uses the planetarium's digital fulldome system to give visitors the science behind recent headlines. When news is slow, the show focuses on the objects visible in the night sky and through the center's telescopes. Approximately 25 minutes, included with admission.

The Sky Tonight (Saturdays, 8pm) uses the planetarium's Zeiss Universarium star projector to present an unparalleled view of the sky from the San Francisco Bay Area on the night of the show. Topics include the constellations, recent space news, and the science behind the objects being shown through the telescopes that night in the observatory. Approximately 45 minutes.

  • Daily Shows:

The daily shows range from content geared for young children through more sophisticated shows designed for a general audience.

A complete schedule and listing of daily shows can be found at the center's planetarium page.[10]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/aboutus/
  2. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/planetarium.asp
  3. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/theater.asp
  4. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/challenger/
  5. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/exhibits.asp
  6. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/vsc/observatory/leah/default.asp
  7. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/vsc/observatory/rachel/default.asp
  8. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/vsc/observatory/nellie/default.asp
  9. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/observatories.asp
  10. ^ http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/planetarium.asp

[edit] External links


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