Planetarium History

The Hayfield Planetarium first opened its doors in 1969, and has since been operating continuously with its Spitz A4 projector. This projector is able to accurately represent a starry night sky, the Moon, Sun, and planets, as well as meteor showers, lightning bolts, and a variety of auroras. In addition, the Spitz A4 can display coordinate systems, constellations, and other tools to aid learning about the night sky, our Solar System, and the Universe. There are also slide and digital projectors which allow for a limitless variety of other images, graphics, and films to be displayed in the dome.

Director Dr. Miriam Krauss joined the Hayfield Planetarium in 2008. She received her undergraduate degree in astronomy from Columbia University in 1999, and a graduate degree in physics from MIT in 2007. Her graduate research focussed on X-ray observations of neutron star binary systems using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer.

The Hayfield Planetarium has fixed seating for 40 audience members, with some overflow seating available as well. It is truly a timeless educational resource for Hayfield Secondary, as well as all the other schools it serves.