T he Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, located in the leafy and tranquil surrounds of the Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, was established by the Brisbane City Council in 1978 as an important educational resource for both adults and children. All programs include live presentations about the current night sky. This artificial night sky is projected on to the interior surface of a 12.5 metre dome which acts like a giant screen to receive images of the stars, sun, moon and planets from the Zeiss Spacemaster projector standing in the centre of the theatre.
Extra projectors located at the base of the dome produce special effects.
Specially designed seats enable the audience to see all parts of the artificial sky with comparative ease and the narrator's commentary is heard from speakers located behind the dome. If sky conditions are suitable on nights of operation, observatory demonstrations are usually conducted for a limited number of visitors. The demonstrations are arranged on a daily booking basis. Special sessions can be arranged for teachers and their students. The Foyer and Gallery T he Foyer and the Gallery surrounding the Star Theatre house an interesting collection of displays relating to modern astronomy and space exploration.