The Planetarium, Montreal

The Planetarium Dow in downtown Montreal has been a favorite of children for over 30 years! Come and contemplate the world's skies in the "Star-theater". The Planetarium main piece of equipment is the Zeiss projector which sits at the centre of the theatre this 2.5-tons machine is valued at 3 million dollars. Apart from the Zeiss star projector, there are 70 slide projectors, and 150 projectors for special effects. Really as if you where under the Milky Way!

My husband loves astronomy and reads everything he can get his hands on about the universe. What this means is that we visit every Planetarium in any city we pass through and he is always disappointed since they tend to "dumb" down the shows and lectures. The Planetarium de Montreal is the exception to the rule. He was very impressed, learned alot and went back again during our week in Canada. It's not very big but if you're an astronomy fan, it's a do not miss. The movies/lectures are given in both English and French, just check the schedules to make sure you're seeing the one that you want. Admission is reasonable as well, $6.50CN for adults for regular shows and $5.75CN for night sky shows.

Learn about planets, asteroids, stars, and the solar system through multimedia productions and workshops. Films are presented on the dome ceiling, and workshops are given after every show to teach about astronomy.

Astronomical shows are presented in the 'Star-theatre,'. Special attention is paid to the theatre’s design. At the Montreal Planetarium, the Star-Theatre seats 385 people in a series of concentric circles. Above the theatre there sits a hemispherical dome, 20 metres in diameter. (Click on the Picture to See a Large Version)

The Planetarium.
Not essential or see or die, but most likely you don't have one in your city. I haven't been there since highschool, but I should go back (it's on my list for a few years, one of those thing where you don't go in your own backyard).
It possess a great celestial body exhibition, great info, a theater with a projector that can project the current starfield on its roof and even future configuration or the progression in fast forward.