Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science Building facts for kids
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 Location in Pittsburgh
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| Location | 10 Children's Way (Allegheny Center), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Coordinates | 40°27′10.44″N 80°0′23.04″W / 40.4529000°N 80.0064000°W |
| Built/founded | 1939 |
| Governing body/ |
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh |
| CPHD designated | July 29, 2005 |
| PHLF designated | 2001 |
The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science Building is a famous old building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Many people called it the "People's Observatory." You can find it at 10 Children's Way in the Allegheny Center neighborhood.
Building a Star-Gazing Place
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This amazing planetarium first opened its doors on October 24, 1939. It was the fifth big planetarium built in the United States. The Buhl Foundation paid for everything. They spent about $1.07 million to build and furnish it.
The building was named after Henry Buhl, Jr.. Architects Ingham, Pratt & Boyd designed it. They used a "stripped Classical style." The building has a cool octagonal copper dome. This dome held the special star projector.
Inside the Planetarium
The Buhl Planetarium had some really neat equipment. It included a Zeiss II Planetarium projector. This projector had 106 lenses. It could show 9,000 images of stars! The Zeiss Optical Works in Germany made it. It cost $135,000.
The planetarium had a "Theater of the Stars." It could seat 492 people. The dome inside was 65 feet wide. This projector is still working today. It is the oldest operating projector like it in the world!
The Buhl Planetarium was also special for another reason. It was the first building of its kind to have a sound system for people who were hard of hearing. This was in its main theater.
You could also see a 35-foot-long Foucault pendulum there. This shows how the Earth spins. There was also a 10-inch telescope. It was a Siderostat-type refractor telescope. Now, it's the second largest of its kind.
Since 1954, the planetarium also housed the Miniature Railroad & Village. This is a very popular exhibit.
New Life for a Historic Building
The Buhl Planetarium closed to the public on August 31, 1991. The sky shows and science exhibits moved. They went to the Carnegie Science Center in 1994.
In April 2002, the Pittsburgh City Council approved a lease for the building. Now, it is part of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. The building was recognized as important history. It was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 2001. It also became a City of Pittsburgh historic landmark on July 29, 2005.
