Hayden Planetarium. Hall of the Sun

Exist Dates

1935 - 1971

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Permanent exhibition. Opened October 3, 1935 and closed 1971. Located on Floor 1, Section 18. The Hayden Planetarium's Hall of the Sun or Copernican Room featured models of our solar system's planets, which mimicked their axes and revolutions around the sun at proper relative speeds. On the blue walls surrounding the chamber were depictions of zodiac constellations showing principal stars and mythological figures. The floor featured a replica of the Aztec Calendar Stone, a cast of which has been exhibited in the Hall of Mexico and Central America. The corridor surrounding the Hall of the Sun included photographic transparencies of astronomical subjects and a collection of meteorites (1, 1935, p. 7-8). The hall also served as visitors' introduction to the Sky Theater. It closed in June 1971 and was replaced by the Guggenheim Space Theater (1, 1970, p. 20).

Additional location information: Northeast Court. Section 1-P indicated in AMNH General Guides for 1953, 1956, and 1958.

For additional related resources and information see Relation.

Sources

(1) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1935-1970.

(2) General Guide to [the Exhibition Halls of] the American Museum of Natural History, 1939.

Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:

Annual Reports for years 1933 (page 3, 16); 1934 (page 28); 1935 (page 7-8); 1951 (page 37); 1954 (page 53); 1970 (page 20); 1971 (page 19)

General Guides 1935 (page 19); 1936 (page 19); 1939 (page 21-22); 1943 (page 21-22); 1945 (page 21-22); 1947 (page 21-22); 1949 (page 21-22); 1953 (page 37); 1956 (page 41-43); 1958 (42-43); 1962 (page 22-23); 1964 (page 22-23)

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

Foscato, Victor
Artist, created the calendar stone replica on the floor of the hall (2, 1939, p. 22).

Hayden Planetarium
The Hall of the Sun was a part of the exhibition space in the Hayden Planetarium .

Hayden Planetarium. Guggenheim Space Theater.
The Guggenheim Space Theater replaced the Hall of the Sun.

Related Resources

subjectOf

Historic Halls of the American Museum of Natural History
Curated digital images of permanent halls in the American Museum of Natural History Library, Digital Special Collections.

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