Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium

The original Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium was showing its nearly half-century of age when it was demolished in 2012 to make way for yet another round of new construction on the campus of Buffalo State College. The permanent replacement will be a state-of-the-art facility that will be a centerpiece of the new Science and Mathematics Complex whose opening is slated for 2019, but until then, programming continues on a temporary basis in a 24-foot (7-meter) inflatable planetarium in Buckham Hall. Though the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium gives you the opportunity to see pretty much any star, planet, constellation, galaxy, nebula, or other astronomical feature you could possibly imagine, it's not an observatory per se — it's actually a 70-seat indoor theater, with a 360°, dome-shaped overhead "screen" immersing visitors in a high-resolution digital image of the night sky that's displayed through a state-of-the-art projection system. General admission is available by reservation, but the majority of visitors to the planetarium come as part of special public programs and exhibits, where dazzling recorded programming educates the public in layman's terms on issues of astronomy.

• museum
• family

Address

Buckham Hall D-Wing, 1300 Elmwood Ave.

Getting there

Metro Bus 3

Hours

Fri Sat 7PM-8:15PM or by reservation

Price

$6; seniors, children 5-17 and students $4; Buffalo State students free; children under 5 not admitted

Website

fergusonplanetarium.net (opens in a new tab)