Looking up and looking back: Kika Silva Pla Planetarium celebrates 20 years

September 2, 2026

Over the last two decades, the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, has given more than 140,000 local students a memorable experience learning about the solar system and sparking an interest in astronomy.

“The planetarium provides educational programming to more than 7,000 students each year,” said James Albury, manager of the planetarium. “That includes students from public schools, private schools, homeschool cooperatives and summer camps.”

The students not only enjoy immersive simulations of the night sky but have already gained a first-hand glimpse of college life. For K-12 students, just being on a college campus offers a lasting impact that helps them see themselves earning a degree in the future.

When you attend a show, the lights dim and you are transported into the wonders of space. While sitting in a chair, you can virtually fly through a 3D rendering of ‘The Pillars of Creation’ within the Eagle Nebula or view a realistic night sky of any date in the past, present or future. Or you can opt to see an award-winning 3D immersive show with awe-inspiring images.

“We have people who drive more than an hour to see a specific show at our planetarium,” Albury said. “When I ask attendees, 95 percent of the people say it is their first time here. People drive from Tampa, South Florida and even Georgia.”

The planetarium was dedicated on September 8, 2006, and is the only one in North Central Florida.

The dream for the planetarium was sparked well before construction began with Santa Fe’s new Natural Sciences building.

Sara “Sally” Witherow Hoffman, PhD, a professor of astronomy and physical sciences for 40 years at Santa Fe worked tirelessly with Howard Cohen, PhD, professor emeritus from the Department of Astronomy at the University of Florida, to get the facility built and funded.

At the dedication ceremony, Hoffman opened the planetarium with the words “let the adventure begin!”

Since October 2009, Albury has taken guests on adventures and passionately narrated the night sky with a digital projection system and customized software. The Chronos GOTO Space Simulator precisely projects the night sky onto the dome of the planetarium. The unit with just the company’s 11th serial number weighs more than 1,000 pounds and resides 15-feet under the floor of the planetarium. It has 32 lenses for the night sky and 24 constellation projectors which offer precision 20 times better than required.

Albury can travel through the solar system and distant galaxies across the ceiling at speeds faster than the speed of light. However, his enthusiasm travels infinitely faster than any physical limitation.  

“At just 14, I was at the Miami Space Transit Planetarium, and I asked the operator how someone gets this job,” he explained.

Soon, Albury was interning and then worked at the planetarium for five years. Next, he attended the University of Florida as an aerospace engineering major. He soon switched that major to astronomy and physics.

For more than 16 years, Albury has educated students and the community about space. This year, 2026, is not only the 20th anniversary of the planetarium, but also the 60th anniversary of Santa Fe College, which boasts the No. 1 graduation rate in the Florida College System.

For 20 years, the planetarium gives a glimpse of the solar system and increases awareness of science to the entire community.

To learn more about this outstanding facility and go virtually inside the planetarium with Albury, visit the website: sfcollege.edu/planetarium.