Department of Geological Sciences- CSU, Chico
Roth Planetarium
Sorry, there won't be any Planetarium shows Fall semester 2007.
Celebrating 28 Years of Astronomy in the Roth Planetarium
The Roth Planetarium is located on the campus of California State University, Chico and is used primarily for the instruction of astronomy students at the University. However, the College of Natural Sciences and the Department of Geosciences sponsor a limited number of presentations for 3rd through 12th grade students studying astronomy.
- Presentations in the Roth Planetarium are only given to elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade who are engaged in the a unit of astronomy study. Regrettably, we do not have the resources to offer programs to community groups, such as the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. Roth Planetarium programs are presented by Roth Planetarium interns, who are CSU, Chico students who have completed a course of study in astronomy.
- The presentations will last between 30 and 50 minutes depending on the age of the group.
- The Roth Planetarium will accommodate between 24 and 30 students (30 if some students sit on the floor).
- Before making a reservation request please check to see what times are available for programs.
- Monday: 12 to 2, 4 to 5 p.m.
- Thursday: 3 to 4 p.m.
- Friday: 1 to 2, 3 to 5 p.m.
- To make reservations for your class please use the online reservation form. A Roth Planetarium intern will contact you to make arrangements for your visit.
- Your Roth Planetarium intern can assist you in obtaining campus parking permits.
- If you are going to visit the Roth Planetarium you might want to explore other activities for your class on the CSU, Chico campus at Campus Resources
- Other resources:
- You can bring your class to the Chico Community Telescope in Bidwell Park. They are open after sunset when the sky is clear Thursday through Sunday. You can make arrangements for a class visit by calling Kris Koenig of the Kiwanis Club.
- Another planetarium within easy driving distance of Chico is the Schreder Planetarium in Redding.
- If your group is going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area the Chabot Space and Science Center has a state of the art planetarium and excellent programs.
- Roth Planetarium location on the California State University, Chico campus.
Planetarium News
Brief History
The Roth Planetarium came into existence in 1975 because of a generous gift from James and Betty Jane Roth. Another generous gift of $340,000 from Betty Jane Roth in 1996 assured the continued operation of the Planetarium up to and beyond the next arrival of Halley's Comet in 2061. The Roth Planetarium has a Spitz 373 projector which projects 1,000 stellar images onto the 14 ft 8 in (5 meter) dome.
This site is maintained by: Dr. James L. Regas (jregas@csuchico.edu). Please feel free to send me any comments or suggestions!