Planetariums around the world attract millions of adults and children each year to public programs popularizing astronomy and related topics. For many urban school children, the planetarium experience is a unique opportunity to observe and to wonder about the night sky and objects in space. In particular, the planetarium provides children with a needed observational basis for increasing scientific literacy and for understanding astronomical concepts.

This paper explores the role of the planetarium in the astronomy education of school children, grades Kindergarten–12, in Tucson, Arizona, over the past 12 years.