Buehler Planetarium
The Buehler Planetarium is now open for limited college activities.
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The Buehler Planetarium is now open for limited college activities.
The Buehler Planetarium recently received several technology upgrades thanks to the generosity of the Buehler Trust and Community Foundation of Broward. We are currently hosting Broward College events and hope to reopen to the general public very soon. Check back for updates!
The Buehler Planetarium opened in 1966 thanks to a donation from Emil Buehler. Thursday mornings were reserved for school groups, who received free shows. The planetarium produced monthly illustrated lectures, with topics ranging from meteor showers to fossil fuels. The planetarium specialists helped build special effects and the projectors were all manually controlled. Our staff also included a part-time artist.
In 1985, the planetarium underwent renovation. During this time, a portable planetarium was purchased to continue serving local schools. As part of the renovation, the Buehler Trust purchased a new mechanical planetarium projector, the Zeiss M1015, which was one of only three in the United States.
In January 1988, the planetarium installed an extensive automation system from Sky-Skan. Later that year, the Buehler Planetarium reopened producing weekly student shows and public shows every weekend. These included both a children's shows and general public shows, with star observation after the Friday and Saturday evening shows. The shows were so popular, additional shows were added to accommodate additional patrons.
In 2002, the Buehler Observatory was built as an addition to the planetarium. The observatory gave students and community members a chance to use high-powered telescopes in guided viewings of the night sky.
In 2005, the planetarium shifted to digital projection, and in 2012, the two 4K projectors were installed. This technology has since been upgraded to include 4K laser projection, Digital Sky Dark Matter software and up-to-the-minute updates via the internet.
The Buehler Planetarium currently supports Broward College's educational mission and is beginning to reach out to the local community after a long closure due to COVID-19.
The tabs below include some of the local media history around the Buehler Planetarium.
