Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, operates the William M. Staerkel Planetarium on its campus as a fulldome venue for teaching and public programmes. According to planetarium director Erik Johnson, speaking to WAND-TV in October 2026, the planetarium has served east central Illinois for nearly 40 years and has worked with a digital projection system for the last 16 years.
How the dome works
The projection dome is 50 feet across and only six feet off the ground, which Johnson says creates an immersive experience. Projectors on two ends of the dome blend their images to avoid a visible seam, giving a 360-degree view that Johnson compared to an IMAX theater: the imagery is designed to surround viewers rather than simply enlarge an image on a flat screen. Johnson says the digital system allows flights through the solar system and around the universe, and travel into the past or future.
Parkland's history page for the planetarium says an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 4 projection system was installed in summer 2010, replacing the slide projectors, and that seating was made fully epicentric in August 2016 for a better fulldome experience. Two years later the planetarium upgraded from Digistar 4 to Digistar 6, while the original Zeiss projector remains in the centre of the room.
Who uses it
- Elementary and middle school students visit on field trips to learn about space.
- Parkland students use the dome in astronomy, earth science and psychology classes, and recently in a class for Institute of Aviation students studying how to fly drones.
- Staff host events through the year where the public can experience a planetarium show.
Johnson describes the planetarium as a venue that supports the educational mission of Parkland College.
