Renovations at the Charles F. Hagar Planetarium at San Francisco State University have been postponed until May.
The planetarium opened in 1973, with its last renovations taking place over 15 years ago according to Adrienne Cool, director of the planetarium and observatory. The Charles F. Hagar renovation proposal was approved with $1.5 million in funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation in late 2023 and received an extra $450,000 last March. Renovations are set to be completed in Spring 2027, giving students a whole new experience under the stars.
Cool said that the delays are due to various reasons, including needing approval from the Division of the State Architect, California certified architects and an architectural firm before construction can officially start.
“We’ve been working over the last many months with an architectural firm to finalize the design, and prior to that, I’ve been working with a planetarium specialist, and we came up with a design, but then it had to go through California certified architects,” Cool said. “I think that was completed last month, and only then can we get bids from contractors.”
Jacqueline Benitez, a physics and astronomy alum, now manages the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences. Benitez spoke with Professor Adrienne Cool about ideas on how to renovate the SFSU planetarium, and appreciated her experience taking classes in the space when she was a student.
“It was so beautiful to be able to be in there. It truly gave you a sense of awe to be able to see that dark of a night sky,” Benitez said. “Being in the city, we never get to see that dark of a sky. We never get to see that many stars. And so it’s really nice to be able to see what you know, what truly is up there, but we can’t see ourselves.”
The planetarium shows offer students a chance to see the night sky, including far off stars, constellations and planets, although some of the equipment has wobbly projections and missing planets on the screen.
A mainstay in the astronomy department at SFSU, the planetarium has provided a place for students to gain knowledge about astronomy and the unique experience of studying in a planetarium.
Gillis Lowry, a master’s student in astronomy, has been hosting public shows in the planetarium every Monday since last October.
“I’ve known about the renovations since I got here, because they’ve been being planned for very long time, far before I became a student here,” Lowry said. “I thought it would be happening in January, February, then near the end of last semester, we said March. And then this past Friday, which was midway through February, we found out it’s not going to be till May. It’s unfortunate.”
Vivian White, director of education at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, earned a degree in physics at SFSU in 2006. White looked back on her time in the planetarium with a sense of joy, remembering its retro feel on first using the planetarium.
“Oh my gosh, [the planetarium] was so much fun,” White said. “It was really old school, where there were knobs and levers, and it felt a little bit like the Apollo era.”
SFSU students have experienced the planetarium with its various classes such as Astronomy Laboratory and Observational Astronomy Laboratory.
Josh Roberts, a portable planetarium and astronomy educator for AstroEverywhere, studied in the planetarium from 2010-11 while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in astronomy. He has since worked at the Cal Academy and NASA.
“I would not be on a career path like I am trying to share, not just astronomy expertise, but how we do science storytelling without the spark and without the kick in the pants that the Hagar provided,” Roberts said.
Roberts’ values his time in the Charles F. Hagar planetarium greatly and is looking forward to the renovations with much anticipation of the capabilities they will bring.
“The renovations will enable the [planetarium] to tell more modern astronomical stories and more astronomical discoveries of places near and far and really support the Gator astronomy program,” Roberts said.
