Largest Planetarium In USA Coming To NJ: Short Hills Resident Funds $5M Project

Short Hills, NJ – Thanks to an unprecedented $5 million gift from a former high school teacher, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City will soon have the “largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.”

The donation from Jennifer Chalsty of Short Hills – the largest that the nonprofit museum has ever seen - will pay for the conversion of the center’s immense IMAX Dome Theater from film to digital, the addition of software and hardware necessary for the theater to also function as a planetarium, the replacement of the screen and general refurbishment.

The target date for opening for the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium is December of 2017, LSC staff stated.

“I want to thank Jennifer for her tremendous generosity,” LSC President and CEO Paul Hoffman stated. ““My life has been enriched by my getting to know her through our work together. She is a remarkable, caring individual who is committed to educating the next generation.”

Chalsty praised the work of the center, particularly its STEM educational programs that serve children from underserved communities.

“As a former teacher, I know that education is life’s great equalizer,” Chalsty said. “I also know that if we hope to fill the tremendous need for more top quality STEM professionals, we have to start inspiring children and imbuing in them a lifelong love for these subjects. That is the mission of the Liberty Science Center and why I’m proud to support this great institution.”

According to a LSC news release, Chalsty was born in South Africa and attended The University of The Witwatersrand, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a high school teacher’s diploma.

After teaching high school in Pretoria for two years, she moved to North America and taught in Montreal. She has since lived in New York City, Texas, The Hague, and London. She has been a New Jersey resident for about five decades and currently resides in Short Hills.

Chalsty joined LSC’s board of directors in 2004.

When LSC expanded from 168,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet in 2007, her support helped to build the Jennifer A. Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching, which features a large forum, a 100-seat interactive theater, a computer learning room and five laboratory classrooms.

Photo via Liberty Science Center