Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center Records

Located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, the Fleischmann Planetarium was constructed with a $330,000 grant from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation as a community educational and cultural facility with a mission to present astronomical and meteorological displays and educational programs to the Northern Nevada community. Completed in 1963, the building incorporates a unique hyperbolic paraboloid roof design covering an elliptical interior and was billed as the world's first atmospherium. O. Richard Norton (1937-2009) became the first director of the planetarium in 1963 and designed the first 35 mm fisheye motion picture system, called the Atmospherium, while at the University.

The Fleischmann Foundation's financial subsidy for operating costs ended in 1970, and having to rely primarily on its ticket and sales revenue the planetarium curtailed its activities during the early to mid 1970s. By the fall of 1975 it was forced to close for several months. In 1976 a major fundraising drive was undertaken to meet a $450,000 challenge grant offered by the foundation. The conditions of the grant were met by the end of that year and a permanent maintenance fund for the operation of the planetarium was established. Originally a unit of the university's Desert Research Institute and called the Charles and Henriette Fleischmann Atmospherium and Planetarium, later name changes have included the Fleischmann Atmospherium/Planetarium, the Fleischmann Planetarium, and the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center. The facility was one of the first three theaters in the United States to be equipped with Cinema-360 motion picture format for its hemispheric dome.

The Fleischmann Foundation's financial subsidy for operating costs ended in 1970. Unlike other planetariums in the country, it then had to rely primarily on its ticket and sales revenue. As a result, the planetarium curtailed its activities during the early to mid 1970s. By the fall of 1975, it was forced to close for several months. In 1976, a major fundraising drive was undertaken to meet a $450,000 challenge grant offered by the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation. The conditions of the grant were met by the end of that year, and a permanent maintenance fund for the operation of the planetarium was established. Since 1994, an auxiliary IMAX theater has scheduled documentary films on a variety of science topics for the general public. A wind turbine and a solar panel were installed in 2009 with a grant from the NV Energy Foundation.