Object Details
inventor
Spitz, Armand
maker
Spitz Laboratories, Inc.
Description
Armand Spitz (1904-1971) was a newspaperman and science educator who began developing planetariums in the early 1940s. His planetariums proliferated in the aftermath of Sputnik, and may be said to have democratized astronomy education. Inexpensive and easy to use, they brought planetarium shows into schools, colleges, and other community buildings around the country. The A2, introduced in the summer of 1958, was the most popular model. This example was made by the Spitz Laboratories, Inc. in Yorklyn, Delaware, and was used at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Ref: “Armand N. Spitz, Astronomer, Dies,” Washington Post (April 16, 1971), p. C10.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Montgomery College
Date made
ca 1960
ID Number
1988.0477.01
accession number
1988.0477
catalog number
1988.0477.01
Object Name
planetarium
Physical Description
aluminum (overall material)
plywood (overall material)
glass (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 94 in x 60 in x 28 in; 238.76 cm x 152.4 cm x 71.12 cm
overall: crate: 108 in x 70 in x 34 in; 274.32 cm x 177.8 cm x 86.36 cm
Place Made
United States: Delaware, Yorklyn
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Sputnik
Science & Mathematics
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Astronomy
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1183743