In the spring of 1979 the Schreder Planetarium was opened in Redding as a multi-media science education facility serving the students and citizens of Northern California. The planetarium provides student and community education in Astronomy and Space Science. Capturing the passion and curiosity of children, teenagers and adults, the planetarium is a beautiful, domed theater in which a realistic and scientifically accurate simulation of the night sky is created, using a highly specialized digital projector. The Digistar 3 projector uses powerful graphics hardware and software to generate immersive full-dome images on the interior surface of a dome, integrating all-dome video, real time 3D computer graphics, and complete digital astronomy.

• Approximately 1,500 square feet
• 10 meter domed theater
• 65 seats
• Built by architects Nichols & Woodward
• Contractor was Ken Gifford
• The only astronomy public education center in the north state

Now we embark on a journey of bringing the fascination of astronomy and science to a greater audience. Committed to bring scientific, educational and informative programming to northern California for every age. Our programs are diverse ranging from scientific documentaries to science fiction stories. Schreder Planetarium is open for school field trips with reservation and evening public shows at least once a month.

Schreder Planetarium is open to the public for public evening shows only. Shows are always at 7:00 p.m. on the dates listed under the tab "Public Evening Shows - Buy Tickets Here!" We also host group field trips throughout the school year during the day. Unfortunately, we are not open to the public during normal business hours for walk-throughs. If you have any questions, please call us at (530) 225-0243. Thank you!

Schreder Planetarium is pleased to open it's doors to the public for several evening shows each season. Stay tuned to our calendar to find out about upcoming shows!

Shows begin at 7:00pm. Tickets are $8 each. Children under 5 may enter for free with a paying adult if they are sitting on the adult's lap during the show. NO LATE ADMITTANCE. NO REFUNDS. You may transfer your tickets to a friend if you are unable to attend. 

Please bring your photo ID with you to the show to verify your registration. No tickets will be mailed to you, and you do not need to print out your e-mail confirmation. 

10/11/19 Sold Out! ET Night (Cosmic Safari; SETI: The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)

We will be closing for construction after our 10/11/19 evening show.  We are very excited to announce that do due the wonderful fundraising efforts of the Friends of Schreder Planetarium and the generous help of the SCOE Board we will be purchasing the much needed projector. This will be a jaw dropping upgrade in terms of visual resolution, sound quality, and software abilities.  Maybe more important, it replaces an aging system that is near terminal.  We expect to open again in early December.  Please keep watching this page for updates to the schedule.

Field Trip Season will run from August 20, 2019 through June 4, 2020.

Field trips are held Tuesday through Friday at 9:00a.m. and 11:00a.m.

All field trip reservations are now done online.  See calendar below to find available dates and complete your registration.  For questions or additional information contact us at (530) 225-0243 or planetarium@shastacoe.org.

Our gift shop offers various fun science toys, t-shirts, and the always popular astronaut ice cream (freeze dried), so students may want to bring cash.

The field trips run approximately 90 minutes.

We have space available for 64 star-gazers.

Pricing is $8.00 per person, including teachers and chaperones.

Minimum purchase of 25 tickets/$200 required. If you have a small group, we will do our best to place you with another group to avoid the minimum purchase requirement.

Payment is due the date of the show. A check or a purchase order to invoice your school are acceptable methods of payment. We do not accept cash for ticket sales.

If circumstances change and you need to cancel a field trip reservation, please notify us of the cancellation within 10 business days or as soon as possible. There is a no show fee of $100 if you fail to notify us of your cancellation. 

Schreder Planetarium reserves the right to change or cancel programs without notice.

The Field Trip Experience

We do not see our field trips as "shows".  We see this as a 5-less program with one of the lessons being the field trip of about 75 minutes that includes a show.  Our goal is to create a complete experience that supports your classroom teaching in science, math, and ELA.

Our programs include:

1. Pre-lessons and post-lessons that make the trip into a mini-unit aligned to the NGSS.
2. An introduction with demonstrations and/or models that enhance the topic.
3. A night sky presentation also focused on the topic.
4. The show itself.  Most shows are primarily about the topic but some are more tangential (like 2nd and 4th, with uses shows about extraterrestrials to teach engineering and adaptations.)
5. Exhibit and gift shop time.

Below are the programs and associated shows.  You can see descriptions and trailers of most shows in our show catalog

Kindergarten - Forces (Larry, Cat in Space)

1st Grade - Patterns of the Sky (One World, One Sky)

2nd Grade - Engineering (SETI)

3rd Grade - Adaptions (Cosmic Safari)

4th Grade - Light Waves (Two Small Pieces of Glass)

5th Grade - Stars, especially the Sun (Secrets of the Sun)

Middle School - Gravity - 8th Integrated: 6th Discipline-Specific (Black Holes)

Middle School - Climate Change - 6th Integrated or Discipline-Specific (Dynamic Earth)

Mixed grade level groups have their choice of show, but we recommend that you choose a show with curriculum matching the youngest students in your group.