by Freda Grones

Would you like to swing on a star?” Bing Crosby melodically asked back in 1944. Crosby’s crooning of Swinging On A Star sold more than a million copies — probably because those lyrics emotionally stirred people, since most of us fantasize some kind of star adventure at some time in our lives.

By opening its new StarRider Theater in January 1999, the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois turns such fantasized star adventures into virtual reality space explorations.

A Monolithic Dome — the first commissioned by a planetarium — plays a significant role in making it all possible. Lohan Associates, an architectural design firm in Chicago, contracted with Dome Technology, Inc. for the dome’s construction. Completed by Dome Technology in February 1998, this Monolithic Dome tops the world’s first StarRider Theater.

But, as with any first, this project had its special moments. David South, president of Monolithic Constructors, Inc., recalled designing and making the Airform. “The specifications called for an Airform that would have a diameter of 60' and a height of 26' when inflated,” David said. Accuracy was of prime importance, since the Airform would be positioned atop a 30' high, circular wall, then attached to the floor and inflated. A skirt built into the Airform and circling its base made the attaching possible.

“We had a scant two-inch margin for error,” David said, “so to check the size accuracy, we inflated the Airform here. It was right on the button. We deflated it, rolled it, and shipped it.”

On a typically cold, Chicago day in February, both the Airform and Dome Technology’s two-man crew arrived at the Adler Planetarium. Barry South, president of Dome Technology, said, “We followed our usual procedure of inflating the Airform, then spraying foam and concrete. But the project was unusual in that the base of the dome, while attached to the floor, was about 30' above the floor. Our crew had to use a scaffold, 30' high, as a work platform.”

Despite the wintry weather, work progressed smoothly, and the project was completed within three weeks. Basel Souder, project manager for Lohan Associates, said, “We were very pleased with how well everything went. The Monolithic Dome is the perfect product for what we wanted. It worked out fine.”

Once completed, the Monolithic Dome’s interior was painted a flat black, and another dome was suspended from it. This second dome has a diameter of 55', fits neatly within the Monolithic Dome, and will be the screen upon which the StarRider Theater’s virtual reality space programs will be projected.

The StarRider’s floor has a 15-degree slope, and its nearly 200 forward- facing seats will tilt back, allowing comfortable viewing of the entire screen.

Marge Marek, vice president of public relations at the Adler Planetarium said, “The StarRider Theater is the cornerstone of our current $40 million expansion, which includes renovating the original 1930s planetarium and constructing the 60,000 square foot Sky Pavilion, with its new exhibits, a telescope terrace, a lake-front restaurant, and two gift shops.”

Within the Sky Pavilion, the StarRider is strategically located between two major exhibits — the Solar System and the Milky Way. Its towering dome will symbolize our sun, orbited by planets and evolving from what it is to what it will become.

David Michaud at Jeff Kennedy Associates, the design firm for the Sky Pavilion’s exhibits, described the artistry planned for the dome’s exterior. Michaud said, “On the side closest to the Solar System Exhibit, the StarRider’s dome will be yellow. As the yellow flows over the dome, toward the Milky Way Exhibit, it will gradually transcend to orange, and then become the red giant that astronomers predict will happen— in about ten billion years.”

Michaud said that painting the StarRider’s dome will require an artist’s talent. “We want believability, so the transition from yellow to orange to red must be smooth,” he explained. “We’re also using theatrical lighting that will simulate the motion, or the fluidity of the sun’s surface.”

To remind viewers of the sun’s predicted evolution, a yellow golf-ball size sphere, representing the sun as we know it today, will hover in the red giant’s background. A white, ball-bearing size sphere, floating in the foreground, will represent the white dwarf, the evolutionary phase our sun will progress into after the red giant phase.

“The Monolithic Dome helps to make all this possible. It’s beautiful. We’re very happy with it,” Michaud said.

And that’s just the exterior of the StarRider Theater. Now imagine yourself entering the StarRider Theater’s interior. The feeling that you are among the stars soon intensifies. Your seat tilts back, and the show begins.

A special computer technology (Digistar II Digital Planetarium Projection System) shows you star motions and positions — even lets you time-travel to see the Big Dipper 100,000 years ago or Orion the Hunter in another 50,000 years.

Then the second component, the StarRider Projection System, glides you by stars and planets so smoothly and swiftly, you really do seem to be flying.

But you don’t stay just an observer. You become a space pilot. By operating controls in the armrest of your seat (Audience Participation System), you embark on a thrilling voyage of discovery. You can drive a rover over the surface of Mars, visit the moon Io, explore a volcanic crater — you choose! So, go ahead — swing on a star! Bing Crosby crooned about it. But now the StarRider Theater lets you do it — almost.

A Walk Through Space & Time

“All mankind, rich and poor, powerful and weak, as well as all nations here and abroad constitute part of one universe.” So believed Max Adler (1866-1952), founder of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.

With financial success as a senior officer and early stockholder in Sears, Roebuck and Company, Adler commissioned the planetarium in 1930. His goal: providing a facility for learning that would demonstrate inter-relations within our universe, and, in so doing, help instill a universal desire for peace.

Architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld Jr. (1897-1970) designed the original planetarium as a twelve-sided, Art Deco structure, clad in smooth granite and capped by a copper dome. The design earned Grunsfeld a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects, and the Adler became an instant success.

It was the first planetarium in the western hemisphere and the first with a Zeiss: an optical projection device which created the illusion of a night sky. The Zeiss, invented by German scientist Dr. Walter Bauersfeld, used light produced by a complicated machine at the center of a hemispherical room to project images of celestial objects onto the inner surface of a dome.

Since its opening, the Adler has continued expanding, particularly with state-of-the-art technology. But the past is of equal importance. The Adler’s Astronomy Museum includes one of the world’s largest collections — some 2000 pieces — of antique instruments used in astronomy and related fields. It also maintains collections of rare books, manuscripts and art.

Visiting the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, once this latest expansion is completed in January 1999, will amount to taking a walk through history and observing the evolution we have undergone in our study of the universe and our changing ideas about it.

You will be able to enter the glass and steel Sky Pavilion, walk over and study the Atwood Sphere which the Adler acquired from the Chicago Academy of Sciences. The Atwood Sphere, built in 1913, is one of the first devices made available to Americans curious about the stars. It’s a 22-gauge galvanized steel sphere perforated with pinholes, so that light can filter through to create the illusion of a night sky. An electric motor turns the sphere to simulate the apparent movement of the sky due to the Earth’s rotation.

Once you finish your examination of the Atwood Sphere, you will probably wander over to the Sky Theater. It’s the original, 68-foot-diameter dome that has 435 seats encircling its Zeiss star projector. In the Sky Theater, you will be able to watch some of the same programs enjoyed by the Adler’s earlier visitors.

Finally, you will undoubtedly walk over to the new StarRider Theater, where you just might become a space explorer. How will you know the StarRider? That’s easy— the StarRider Theater will be that gorgeous, new building topped by a Monolithic Dome!

177 Dome Park Place - Italy, TX 76651
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