If you've driven up Warburton Avenue, you've passed it. The Hudson River Museum, at number 511, has its own planetarium. It's the only public one in Westchester County. And its story starts somewhere you would never guess: a dining room.
It Opened a Year Before Sputnik
On October 7, 1956, the Hudson River Museum opened its first planetarium. It sat inside the dining room of Glenview, the stone mansion that was the whole museum back then. The machine was a Spitz A1 star projector. Think about the timing. Sputnik, the first satellite, would not launch until October 4, 1957. So the first Yonkers kids to see stars on that ceiling were looking at a sky with nothing human in orbit yet.
Glenview has its own story. Wall Street stockbroker John Bond Trevor built it in 1877, and his family lived there for 45 years. The City of Yonkers later bought the house, and the museum moved in in 1924. If the rooms look familiar, there's a reason. Glenview's period rooms show up in HBO's The Gilded Age. The mansion is closed for a restoration project right now, so check hrm.org before you plan around it.
A Real Dome Next Door
In 1969 the museum opened a big new wing right beside the mansion. Inside was a much bigger dome. It was called the Andrus Space Transit Planetarium. In 1987 it got a new Zeiss star projector that showed about 5,000 stars. Hold that number for a second.
The 2014 Upgrade
In March 2014, Mayor Mike Spano helped unveil a $1.5 million upgrade. The dome is 40 feet across, with 120 seats. It got a Megastar II star projector, which can fill it with up to 20 million stars. That's a long way from 5,000. Digital projectors were added too, so the shows can fly you through space using real data from NASA.
What's actually playing? A lot. There are kid shows like One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure and Magic Tree House: Space Mission. There are shows for older kids and adults, like We Are Stars and the newer Asteroid: Mission Extreme. The 2 PM weekend show is live, with a presenter in the room instead of a recording.
Plan Your Visit
The museum is at 511 Warburton Avenue, and parking in the front lot is free. It's open Wednesday through Friday from 12 to 5, and Saturday and Sunday from 11 to 5. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for seniors and students, and $8 for kids 3 to 18. Planetarium shows run Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30, 12:30, 2 and 3:30. Those tickets cost extra: $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and students, and $6 for kids. Shows start right on time, and late arrivals can't go in, so get there early. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Got little ones? The 11:30, 12:30 and 3:30 shows are the picks for young kids. The 2 PM live show is for everyone.
Seventy years after a star projector showed up in a dining room, the stars still come out every weekend in Yonkers. Go look up.
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