Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Big Bear Lake Planetarium, Projector, and Science Museum

Planetarium, Projector, and Science Museum

In the days before HD projectors and IMAX, some of the most powerful projectors belonged to planetariums.

Big Bear Lake, California

Added By
mzed
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

These gargantuan, dome-shaped projectors would recreate the night sky with high powered lights and a dome. The projectors were a sight to behold themselves, with their many knobs and lenses. Their potential for eye candy is partly the reason for the Planetarium Projector and Science Museum.

Museum owner Owen Phairis keeps the largest collection of planetarium projectors in the world. While there are only seventeen projectors in the collection, their gigantic size makes it hard for any one person to keep too many of them at once. However, the projectors that the museum has are impressive, from a small Goto S-3 projector (one of three left in the world), to the huge Spitz STS projector.  

The projectors still work, and Phairis demonstrates their use by turning them on and simulating the night sky, or by running a show called CAPTAIN CORONA in the "Overcast of Doom", complete with an old animatronic robot starring as Captain Corona.

The museum is currently a traveling museum with no set route. However, Phairis is looking for museums who will host his exhibits, so be on the lookout for these marvels coming to your local museum.

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Related Tags

Museums Science Museums Planetariums Collections

Community Contributors

Added By

mzed

Published

January 22, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Planetarium, Projector, and Science Museum
Big Bear Lake, California, 92315
United States
34.243896, -116.911422
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Jack O'Landia

Lucerne Valley, California

miles away

SkyPark at Santa's Village

Near Lake Arrowhead, California

miles away

Edward-Dean Museum and Gardens

Cherry Valley, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,532
Stories 137

Nearby Places

Jack O'Landia

Lucerne Valley, California

miles away

SkyPark at Santa's Village

Near Lake Arrowhead, California

miles away

Edward-Dean Museum and Gardens

Cherry Valley, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,532
Stories 137

Related Places

  • Two ichthyosaur skull replicas on the fourth floor just outside the main museum.

    Middletown, Connecticut

    Joe Webb Peoples Museum

    A small museum packed with specimens from important fossil sites and minerals from historical pegmatite quarries.

  • Florence, Italy

    La Specola Zoological Museum

    An incredible menagerie of more than 3 million taxidermied animals at the oldest science museum in Europe.

  • Electric Ladyland in full color.

    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Electric Ladyland: The Museum of Fluorescent Art

    The world's only museum devoted to the wonders of fluorescence.

  • Clément Ader’s Avion III

    Paris, France

    Musée des Arts et Métiers

    France's national museum of scientific and industrial instruments.

  • Edinburgh, Scotland

    James Clerk Maxwell Foundation

    Small museum dedicated to the founder of electromagnetic theory.

  • This nutcracker collection houses over 6,000 unique specimens.

    Luverne, Minnesota

    Rock County History Center

    Home to one of the world’s largest nutcracker collections and other historical curiosities.

  • Actaeon In The Seasons Mosaic

    Cirencester, England

    Corinium Museum

    This fascinating museum takes visitors through Britain’s Roman past.

  • Dental Phanthom

    Dublin, Ireland

    Museum of Curiosities

    A two-storey cabinet of wonders filled with the bizarre, the macabre, and the downright uncanny.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.