 Main entrance to the Space Centre, shared with theMuseum of Vancouver | |
 | |
| Established | 1968 (1968) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1100 Chestnut Street Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Coordinates | 49°16′34″N123°08′40″W / 49.276205°N 123.1444°W /49.276205; -123.1444 |
| Type | Planetarium |
| Visitors | 126,420 (2018)[1] |
| Chairperson | Matthew Anthony |
| Owner | H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Society |
| Website | spacecentre |
TheH.R. MacMillan Space Centre, is an astronomy museum located atVanier Park inVancouver, British Columbia. The museum was opened on October 28, 1968, containing a PlanetariumStar Theatre. Today the museum includes an exhibit gallery and demonstration theatre where public lectures and events are hosted.[2] The museum shares the building with theMuseum of Vancouver. Next to the building is the Gordon MacMillan SouthamObservatory.
The Space Centre is named afterH. R. MacMillan, a local lumber magnate and philanthropist, who paid for the inclusion of the Planetarium Theatre into the design of the Centennial Museum Building.[3] To this day, locals also refer to the Space Centre as the Planetarium.[2]
The building was designed in the 1960s by architectGerald Hamilton[4] to house what was then called The Centennial Museum. The planetarium was added as part of a pre-construction re-design after a donation by H.R. Macmillan.
Outside the museum is a sculpture byGeorge Norris calledThe Crab. Norris's sculpture won a 1967 design competition. The Space Centre originated as the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium until its re-branding in the 1990s when it expanded to include exhibit space into one of the wings of the building it shares with theMuseum of Vancouver. The facility was refurbished and renovated to include the Space Centre exhibit space in 1997-98 by Matsuzaki Wright Architects.
