Take a starlit tour of the Planetarium Projector Museum
Optical relics aplenty reside under one roof (parachute actually) at the Planetary Projector Museum in Southern California. Take a video tour.
Planetarium projectors are one of the most fascinating devices you never think of. People visit planetariums to take a trip through the cosmos. But according to one man, the projectors themselves are worthy of admiration -- and he has built a museum to prove it.
The Planetarium Projector Museum sits inside an unassuming building in Big Bear Lake, Calif. In a modified military parachute, owner and curator Owen Phairis displays his collection of more than 17 projectors, some of which were made as far back as the 1950s.
"The main attraction of a planetarium is not only the star show but seeing the projector," Phairis says in the video above. "The projector is an attention compeller."
The projectors, many of which were cutting-edge technology when they were built decades ago, were rescued from defunct planetariums and schools. The video -- courtesy of Cool Hunting -- offers a chance to take a private tour of these optical relics.
This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com.