Located inside Chicago?s Museum Campus, the Adler Planetarium was the first of its kind built in the Western Hemisphere in 1928 and the oldest in existence to date. It was built and founded by the philanthropist Max Adler. The Planetarium was opened in May 12, 1930 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Today, it exists not just as a planetarium but also a museum preserving some of the finest astronomical artifacts such as an astrolabe, dates back to 12th century Baghdad, the world?s oldest known sundial and a telescope made by William Herschel.
The Adler Planetarium now has three full-size theatres. One of which is the Sky Theatre that features representations of the night sky through the use of a Zeiss planetarium projector that can proficiently replicate the movement of every aspect of the night sky.

Several expansion projects have been initiated to improve the planetarium. Some of which are the opening of the Doane Observatory in 1977, the inclusion of the Stairway to the Stars, a special-effects sky show escalator, a Planetarium Cafe, the History of Astronomy Research Center, and a Sky Show Production Suite, all in March of 1991. A permanent exhibition called Bringing the Heavens to Earth was opened in 2002 where visitors learn about cultures around the world have explained and utilized the movement of the stars. Other exhibits are also ongoing featuring the possibilities of life forms on other planets. In 1999, the world's first StarRider Theater was unveiled, allowing audiences to actively explore the Universe through its virtual environment. The Space Visualization Laboratory was unfolded on May 11, 2007 which uses the most advanced technology that lets one see the latest images of space science. And to educate the young minds, Planet Explorers was added on March 26, 2010 to make discovering the world and universe more appealing to kids.