Harrison High School Planetarium currently serves students of Harrison Central School District from elementary through high school. Over 1000 students visit the theater annually.- Harrison Central School District is one of only three districts in Westchester County to have a planetarium.

At the heart of the Planetarium is the Spitz System 512, the most popular modern planetarium instrument installed in over 150 locations around the world. The 512 projects over 4000 stars onto a 30 foot dome, and can replicate the night sky for any earth location on any date. The theater also boasts state of the art surround sound and high definition video.

The planetarium was constructed through a cooperative grant from the National Science Foundation. The author of the grant was former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Glenn C. Parker (1970-1975).

The planetarium has an outreach program involving visits to all elementary schools where students complete hands-on science labs. Research has shown that in association with a hands-on science lab, a planetarium program increased student understanding of related topics by 24%, and resulted in an 11% increase in the students’ interest in science as a career. (Sumners, 2000)

Programs at the Harrison High School Planetarium align with New York State Standards in Science, Math and Technology. This creates an environment of academic support.

In a worldwide survey of over 750 teachers who used a planetarium in their instruction, nearly 92% agreed that it helped make their students enthusiastic about science. (Kratzer, 1997)

Trips to a planetarium or science museum are memorable. Over 80% of graduating college students recall specifics of trips they made to planetariums in the first, second or third grade. (Rennie & McClafferty, 1995)