The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, is one of the 37 major planetaria in the United States and the second largest planetarium in Illinois, the largest being the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The planetarium, which was opened to the public in 1987, provides science education programs and light show entertainment to as many as 40,000 people each year. It uses the Zeiss Model M1015 star projector, manufactured by Carl Zeiss, Inc., of Germany, which is the first of its kind to be installed anywhere in the world. The projection dome is 50 feet in diameter and at its highest point is 31 feet from the floor of the 144-seat theater. The Zeiss can show the daily motions of the sky, the sun, the moon and the positions of the stars on almost any given day. Two interesting lobby attractions are the solar window, an abstract representation of the changing daily path of the sun across the sky, from June when the sun is highest and daylight is longest to December when the sun is lowest and daylight is shortest, and the "Cosmic Blink," a mural that depicts the timelessness of mankind's quest to understand the universe. A trip to the Staerkel Planetarium is in sharp contrast to the time in 1960 when my astronomy class gathered near the Morrow Plots at midnight to see the North Star and other configurations.

Staerkel Planetarium is one of Champaign's diamond star attractions. Affiliated with Parkland College, the Planetarium offers many sky shows, educational events, and lectures to the public. In conjunction with local astronomy group(s), special events such as Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse observing. My son and I enjoyed the landing of Martian probe "Curiosity" from a comfortable seat late at night in the Planetarium. There are astronomical items such as telescopes and binoculars also for sale. All around, a wonderful place in Champaign.