The first planetarium in Jena was opened on the 18th July 1926. The founder of the German museum in Munich, Oskar von Miller, contacted the Zeiss company in Jena in order to realise his plans of a ''big planetarium''. After a basic form was designed by Dr. Walter Bauersfeld and thousands of spectators marveled at the artificial night sky in 1924, the construction of the Jena planetarium began. The projection planetarium, which not only projects fixed stars and planets on to the inside of a 25 metre high dome, delights thousands of visitors every year. A new laser based  projection system, which was installed in 2004 ensures excitement.