DOWNTOWN — More Chicagoans could soon be seeing stars thanks to a $1 million gift to the Adler Planetarium.
The planetarium at 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive will expand its 'Scopes in the City program after the anonymous gift made earlier this year. About 2,000 people a year get to see constellations, comets and other interstellar phenomena from their neighborhood through the program launched in 2014.
"Our goal is to connect people to the sky ... and essentially expand the walls of the planetarium out to the community," said Michelle Nichols, the Adler's master educator.
'Scopes in the City is what it sounds like: Adler staff take a telescope to a neighborhood park or library, where guests take turns looking at the sky through a telescopic lens. The planetarium visits 20 to 25 venues a year, including suburbs, and trips should should increase after the gift, Nichols said.
The Adler often visits disadvantaged city neighborhoods, and Nichols said "at least" 95 percent of 'Scopes in the City visitors had never looked through a telescope before.
One woman brought cupcakes out of gratitude during a visit to Wrightwood-Ashburn Library last year, Nichols said. Another gave Adler staff a hug after finding the Big Dipper, a constellation she had never seen before.
"This is inspiring wonder for kids and adults," Nichols said.
The planetarium piloted the program in 2014 and debuted it full time in 2015, looking to broaden its audience and gain more visitors.
The Adler hosted about 568,000 visitors last year, up 26 percent from about 450,000 visitors in 2014, a spokeswoman for the planetarium said.
The Adler has yet to finalize its 2017 'Scopes in the City schedule and is still adding venues in light of the gift, Nichols said.