Space Science Center - Planetarium and Telescopes

A stop on Foothill College Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

The round building in front of you, building 4000, began as Foothill's Space Science Center, home to the college planetarium and a space science museum. Today it houses the Krause Center for Innovation, founded in 1998 by Gay Krause, a former Mountain View school principal, who led the effort to restore the old museum as a technology center for teachers, Foothill students and the community. More than 27,000 teachers have taken its courses, and its makerspace, with laser cutters, 3D printers and sewing machines, is open to enrolled Foothill students. The planetarium has still welcomed visitors at center events as recently as 2024.

Next door is the Foothill Observatory, established in 1965 and run by the college with the Peninsula Astronomical Society. Its 16-inch telescope went into operation in 2007. On clear Friday nights, roughly 9 to 11 p.m., the public can look through it free, and on clear Saturday mornings a solar telescope shows the sun safely. Clouds close it, so check the astronomy website before you come back after dark.

Getting here: From the STEM Center, follow the path northwest past Lot 4A to the round building beside Lot 4.

Did you know?: Foothill's introductory astronomy labs, which serve more than 800 students a year, use the observatory for their hands-on sky work.

Photo op: From the edge of Lot 4, frame the round Space Science Center and the observatory together, best at dusk.

More on Wikipedia: Foothill Observatory · Planetarium

Space Science Center - Planetarium and Telescopes

Stops on this tour