Visit the second largest planetarium in Illinois!
The William M. Staerkel Planetarium is located at Parkland College in northwest Champaign. As you enter our campus, follow the perimeter drive to the west side of campus. The planetarium is in a large cylindrical building with a conical roof. The planetarium now boasts a Digistar 6 digital projection system and the first Carl Zeiss M1015 opto-mechanical star projector installed in the western hemisphere. The lobby displays the Billy Morrow Jackson painting Cosmic Blink and the Goose Kaler Memorial Meteorite Collection.
Public shows are held on Friday evenings at 7 pm and 8 pm and on Saturday afternoons at 1 pm and 2 pm. All tickets are sold at the door or at tickets.parkland.edu. However, if you're bringing a group of 20 or more, you can call 217/351-2568 to make special arrangements. For a full schedule of programming, see the public show calendar. The planetarium is closed on most holidays when the college is closed.
We are open during the week for groups booking field trips. We do not have any regularly scheduled programming through the week with the exception of matinees held during June and July. For more information on booking a field trip for your class or group, see the Group Visits page