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It began in 1995 when the trustees began raising funds to transform an existing storage building into a Planetarium and Science Centre. Since then, we have raised about £ 1 million which, together with gifts in kind such as building materials and computer equipment, have finally brought the project to fruition. Throughout the life of the project, we have received - and continue to receive - tremendous support from a wide variety of organisations and individuals. We are, of course, hugely appreciative of those major sponsors whose names appear in the foyer - without them we could not have succeeded. But we are also greatly indebted to the hundreds of people who have helped us, either with smaller donations, with their freely-given labour and expertise during the building work, by acting as volunteer staff during our work-up period since July 2001, and in many other ways. To you all, please accept our warm and heartfelt thanks. SOLAR TRAIL Soon after the Planetarium opened on 5th April 2002, we completed our "Solar Trail", which runs along the 200 yards of approach road leading from the school roundabout in front of the Sixth Form Centre down to the Planetarium. The Solar Trail performs two main functions. Firstly, it provides much needed lighting along the approach road. Secondly, at regular intervals, it gives basic facts and information about each of the planets in the Solar System. From the new Sports Centre, named after Major Tim Peake, Britain's new astronaut, the trail starts with the dwarf planet Pluto, just as it would if you were in a spacecraft approaching the Sun from outside the Solar System. Then, as you go further along the trail, you pass, in sequence, points representing Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury and, finally, the Sun. As part of our commitment to care for the environment, the lights along the Solar Trail are of the full cut-off design ensuring that no light goes up into the night sky. Additionally, three of the lanterns are powered by wind-driven generators. The Solar Trail has been made possible through the generosity of the Seagull Trust, Urbis Lighting Ltd, Brian Fieldhouse, Henry Adams and Partners, with technical advice and assistance from Gerry Davis. RANGE OF PRESENTATIONS CONTINUALLY IMPROVED On average there are 8-10 different public presentation for the community each month, and our wide range of presentations for schoolchildren both complements and supplements their National Curriculum work and meets the basic educational needs of a range of ages and abilities. However, we have steadily increased our expertise in the production of tailor-made shows to meet the specific needs of university undergraduates, individual colleges and schools, including those from overseas, and various adult and youth groups, and to be able to produce new presentations rapidly, in response to topical events such as the appearance of a comet. The main star projector produces a high quality night sky with 4,500 pinpoint stars, supplemented by an array of slide and video projectors controlled from the auditorium console by the lecturer. We are continually working to enhance all of our projection systems to enable the creation of new and even better presentations. The work, which involves new hardware, system planning, cabling and installation, commissioning and programming, is being carried out by the Planetarium's team of technical experts, drawn from our pool of over 40 volunteers. To considerably enhance the utility of the Planetarium as a Science Centre, the construction of a multi-functional hall, with additonal toilets and storage, alongside the existing building, was completed in the summer of 2009. This provides a highly adaptable multi-purpose space for use by visting school groups and as a location for additional exhibits and hands-on activities during courses for adults and children. STAR CLUB As a result of requests from visitors in the early days, we formed the 'Friends of the Planetarium' Star Club. Membership of this club enables people to become more involved with this exciting project, and to take part in regular social events and observing evenings using a range of telescopes both at the Planetarium and at members' homes. Members receive a quarterly magazine "Planetarium News" keeping them up to date with the latest developments. It also gives them the opportunity for priority booking for the special events which are staged from time to time, as well as discounts on Planetarium publications and other items available at the kiosk. Membership subscriptions are:
Individual membership £10.00
Trustees: Mr J.K.W. Green MBE; Dr J.W. Mason MBE; Miss Ann Mills
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On Friday, 5th April 2002, the South Downs Planetarium was officially opened by Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, marking a major milestone in the realisation of a dream.