McLaughlin Planetarium
A picture of the east-facing façade of the McLaughlin Planetarium building, taken in 2008.
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| Established | 1968 |
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| Dissolved | 1995 |
| Location | 100 Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
| Coordinates | 43°40′01″N 79°23′39″W / 43.666964°N 79.394181°W |
| Type | Planetarium museum |
| Public transit access | Museum |
| Website | N/A |
The McLaughlin Planetarium is a former working planetarium whose building occupies a space immediately to the south of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, at 100 Queen's Park. Founded by a grant from philanthropist Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin, the facility was opened to the public on October 26, 1968. It had, for its time, a state-of-the-art electro-mechanical Zeiss planetarium projector that was used to project regular themed shows about the stars, planets, and cosmology for visitors. By the 1980s the planetarium's sound-system and domed ceiling were used to display dazzling music-themed laser-light shows. The lower levels of the planetarium contained a gallery called the "Astrocentre" that featured space-related exhibits, related artifacts on the history of astronomy and was also home of the world's first commercial Stellarium
Starting in 1978, there was a decline in attendance that lasted for four years while major construction was being undertaken at its sibling institution, the adjacent Royal Ontario Museum. This work also entailed the demolition of part of the planetarium's facilities. Though attendance picked up when the museum reopened in 1984, the planetarium was forced to close on November 5, 1995, due to provincial budget cuts to the museum. The planetarium's exhibits, artifacts and theatre facilities were subsequently dismantled and dispersed. For a brief period it housed the Children's Own Museum. It is now used solely for offices and as a storage facility for the museum.
Early in 2009, the R.O.M. announced that it had sold the building and site to the University of Toronto, which plans to demolish the existing building to make way for additional facilities. In September, 2014, the university announced preliminary plans for new facilities to be built on the site.
Proposals for building a planetarium in Toronto date back to 1944, but serious planning only started in 1962, thanks to a bequest made by a former member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). In May 1964 the Chairman and the President of the University of Toronto gave their support for the idea to the RASC, and suggested a site near the existing Royal Ontario Museum, adding that significant financial support would have to come from outside the University to make it possible.
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