The Planetarium, part of the Lafayette Science Museum, offers a cosmic journey on the dome’s dazzling starscape. Here, a world of meticulously aimed projectors, carefully coded visuals, and creative contraptions brings the universe to life for visitors of all ages — and it’s all thanks to decades of innovation and passion. But how does the magic get made?
Retired planetarium curator Dave Hostetter, who now volunteers at the museum, recently gave KATC an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour, offering a glimpse at the planetarium's hidden heart, which has inspired generations.
“It’s like designing an airplane,” Hostetter said. “There are miles of wiring and cabling. Every light and every star is carefully placed — nothing is accidental.”
A High-Tech Star Machine
The planetarium’s current setup boasts six precision JVC projectors, each managed by its computer and synced through a master control hub. These projectors seamlessly blend visuals across the dome, so visitors see one breathtaking image rather than a patchwork of separate projections.
So what's it look like when the lights go out? The views behind the dome were shocking. Here is a look you can't get anywhere else:
This digital marvel replaced an earlier system from 1969, the Spitz A4 star machine. This mechanical wonder used tiny pinholes and mirrors to recreate the night sky, and was so precise that staff would climb atop it monthly to adjust Mercury’s mischievous orbit in the past.
A Treasure Trove of History
Today, Hostetter is on a mission to preserve the planetarium’s past alongside its present. The museum’s archive has decades’ worth of planetarium shows: slides, reel-to-reel tapes, cassette recordings, and even hand-built projectors that once turned cardboard boxes and fiber optics into comets and shooting stars.
"There are literally all the planetarium programs that we've done since 1980."
From the 1980s to today, the evolution of these shows mirrors advances in technology and the prior planetarium workers' joint creativity. “We’d spend months creating a single show,” he said. “It wasn’t just plugging in a picture. It was a living, breathing production.”
A Labor of Love
These days, it’s not just Hostetter’s expertise powering the planetarium. A new generation of part-time staff and student employees now runs the weekend shows, carefully trained on the six-page checklist it takes to start the dome, and another to shut it down.
Hostetter says, “You don’t do this for 40 years unless you love it.”
An Invitation to Explore
For visitors, the result is an unforgettable experience: from exploring deep space to traveling through time under the dome.
Hostetter’s favorite seats? Right in the middle, where the magic of the dome is most immersive.
As the Lafayette Science Museum prepares to showcase retired planetarium equipment in upcoming exhibits, Hostetter hopes these behind-the-scenes stories will inspire future generations.
“This is a real gem for Lafayette,” he said. “Not many cities this size have something like this.”
The exhibits are still being planned, and there is no finalized date, but these are only a few of the amazing things you can expect to see. For more, watch the full interview and tour with Dave Hostetter.
The planetarium hosts public programs at the Lafayette Science Museum. Shows are included in the admission price. For a full schedule, visit the Lafayette Science Museum here
