"I never expected to make any substantial contribution
to astronomy or science, but what greater satisfaction can I have
than to have one very famous astronomer tell me that he gained
his first interest in astronomy through viewing a Spitz planetarium
when he was a small boy. I can only hope that in whatever celestial
book-keeping there is I will be given indirect credit for helping
along the knowledge of the heavens."
Armand Neustadter Spitz was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
on July 7, 1904. His father Louis was a physician and his mother
Rose (nee Neustadter) a homemaker. Among the various biographical
sources on Armand, only one refers to a brother named Louis who
became a physician in West Philadelphia like his father. Armand
Spitz had green-gray eyes and dark hair which thinned and grayed
prematurely.
Armand attended public schools, graduating from West Philadelphia
High School in 1922. He entered the University of Pennsylvania
immediately after graduation and spent two years there. Transferring
to the University of Cincinnati, Armand attended classes from
September of 1924 through April of 1926, when he left without
receiving a degree. He then returned to Pennsylvania to work as
a journalist.
In Philadelphia, Armand first worked as a district reporter for
the Camden Courier. He enjoyed gathering news and later recounted,
"I acquired a sneaking desire to have a newspaper of my own."
By 1928, Armand closed in on that goal by joining the Haverford
Township News, based in Brookline, Pennsylvania as editor. Within
three months, Spitz had saved enough money to purchase the News,
found the Spitz Publishing Company, and achieve his goal. In the
Township News, Spitz concentrated on community activities, with
occasional features on special events in Philadelphia, including
notes on the Franklin Institute. Beyond work on his own paper,
Armand continued serving as a correspondent for the Philadelphia
Bulletin into the mid 1930s.
Bolstered by his work as editor, publisher, and owner of the Township
News, Spitz participated actively in his community into the Great
Depression. He served as president of the Haverford Township Free
Library and founded the Haverford Township Chamber of Commerce.
These activities made Armand well known in the township, but not
necessarily popular. In the elections of 1932, Armand endorsed
several candidates from the "wrong" (losing) party.
Some residents disagreed with him so strongly they burned him
in effigy.
During the Depression, Spitz and the Township News suffered. Supporting
banks and advertisers found themselves unable to pay for their
space. Although he accepted scrip as payment and bartered goods
for various companies' advertising space in the paper, Armand
could not provide enough financial support to sustain the newspaper
so both he and the Township News were forced into bankruptcy in
1932.
Without money or a job, Armand voyaged to France intending to
work as a correspondent or writer. Unable to pay for the trip,
Spitz took a dishwashing job on a freighter. According to an interview
from 1957, this voyage generated Armand's first deep interest
in observational astronomy. A ship's officer who befriended Armand
taught him celestial navigation. To reckon positions, Armand built
a sextant out of a water-filled dish pan, a board, and a toothpick.
With this apparatus, Spitz launched his life-long fascination
with simplified astronomical instruments that culminated in the
Model A portable planetarium. Unsuccessful in starting a career
while in Paris, Spitz soon returned to Pennsylvania to resume
work as a journalist.
Upon his return, Spitz renewed his acquaintance with and began
dating Vera Golden, whom he knew from the Township News. She was
one of six children of Mrs. Gertrude Golden, a District Superintendent
of the Philadelphia Board of Education and eventual chair of its
public relations department. According to a 1954 interview, one
night during their courtship, Vera asked Armand to name a particularly
bright star. Not knowing the answer, he pored over astronomy books
and memorized star names to impress her on future dates. After
a brief courtship, they married.
Besides her work with the newspaper, Vera served on the Haverford
Township Planning Commission and with the local historical society.
Together, the Spitzes had two children-a daughter, Verne Carlin
born in 1935 and a son, Armand Lawrence (Larry) born in 1939.
Unfortunately, the marriage between Armand and Vera was not happy
and they divorced late in 1957, following a publicized suit. Vera
died without having remarried at her sister's home in Havertown,
Pennsylvania on 21 April 1962.
Astronomy Beckons Armand
Armand Spitz began his path to the stars with an eight year association
with Haverford College located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, from
1935. There, he worked as an assistant astronomer and astronomy
lecturer, but he never achieved faculty status since he lacked
a college degree. Spitz later remarked on the limits of his formal
astronomical education:
"I am not a mathematical astronomer. I don't get along with
mathematical equations. I am not very much of a scientist. You
can call me an interpreter of science if you want to."
Nevertheless, Spitz used the college's ten-inch refractor to study
double stars and gave frequent public lectures. James Greene,
emeritus professor of astronomy at Haverford, through telephone
interview recalls Armand Spitz as an active educator who was constantly
trying to spread his passion for astronomy to the public within
this highly appropriate setting.
During 1935, Spitz constructed a four-foot tall papier-mache Moon
which he then brought to classrooms, auditoriums, and museums
to show audiences how our satellite appeared through an average
telescope. These lectures spread Spitz's fame nationally and drew
large audiences. Illuminated by spotlights, this large hemisphere
showed detailed craters, rilles, and maria. Since it only cost
$15 to build, this model was widely copied but, as Vera recalled,
gluing it together (which Armand did in the kitchen), "made
the house smell like a fishery for weeks." Despite such meager
origins, the Moon eventually became a permanent display at the
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
The Spitz home, a two-century-old house in Landsdowne, Pennsylvania,
staged several other of Armand's astronomical projects. In the
yard, Armand built an equatorial-pier reflecting telescope. When
repainting the living room, Spitz covered the ceiling with "an
elaborate representation of the planets revolving among the signs
of the zodiac." On some walls he painted detailed astronomical
instruments including a replica of Tycho Brahe's mural quadrant.
After Spitz moved away, these designs were mistakenly classified
as early examples of Oriental art in America. Perhaps the most
significant pieces of astronomical machinery to come from this
home, however, was the Soft Soap original and several subsequent
prototypes of the Model A planetarium.
Franklin Institute
In 1935, Armand Spitz brought his new passion for astronomy to
the Franklin Institute, where he tried to volunteer writing publicity.
The Institute did not call on him until 1936, when Armand was
asked to do three weeks' publicity for special shows as a public
relations officer. He proved so suited to this position that he
remained on the Institute's staff for nearly twenty years. Spitz
eventually resigned to work on his planetaria full-time, but maintained
ties with the Institute and Fels Planetarium until 1955. During
his time at the Franklin Institute, Spitz filled a variety of
positions ranging from editor of the Institute News (1936-1943),
founder and director of the Department of Meteorology (1940-1947),
Assistant Director of Public Relations (1941-1943), Director of
Education (1941-1953), and lecturer in the Fels Planetarium (1942-1955).
Throughout his work at the Franklin Institute, Spitz fostered
his interest in astronomy, always seeking to lecture at the Fels
Planetarium. Originally denied him for his lack of formal education,
Armand's efforts paid off and he eventually delivered nearly one
thousand lectures at the Fels by 1955. Topics gleaned from copies
of the Journal of the Franklin Institute include many designed
for school children as well as a holiday programs like "The
Christmas Star" and "Easter's Moon."
As an important part of his work at the Franklin Institute, Spitz
designed and participated in several broadcast media shows. Appearing
over a decade, they ranged from a basic science radio show to
an early interactive television program. Some reached only Philadelphia
while one of the radio programs and a later television show gained
national exposure and popularity.
Beginning in 1935, the radio show "My Stars" represented
Spitz's first foray in broadcast journalism. Spitz wrote and starred
in this show which told listeners "what's up tonight."
Although popular, this program ended with World War II airwaves
restrictions.
In the fall of 1944, the Franklin Institute launched "Science
Is Fun" after a suggestion by Mrs. Gertrude Golden. Broadcast
on radio station WFIL from the Franklin Institute Mondays at 2:15
P.M., it highlighted scientific events, noted anniversaries, and
ongoing activities of the Franklin Institute and Fels Planetarium.
Spitz contributed regularly; advertising planetarium shows, talking
basic astronomy, and explaining sciences like meteorology. Widely
acclaimed, the series became part of the public school curriculum
in grades three to six. Spitz developed a educator's guide to
the series and integrated student and teacher suggestions into
newer shows.
Spitz began another program after World War II aimed at high school
students. "Great Moments in Science" ran on radio station
WIP from Philadelphia Tuesdays at 1:45 P.M. These featured Dr.
Roy K. Marshall of the Fels Planetarium, as well as Uncle WIP,
and used a format similar to the later television show "Mr.
Wizard."
Armand Spitz and the Franklin Institute broke into educational
television soon after its introduction. Calling television the
"educational medium of the future," Spitz was proud
that "Of Shoes and Ships" premiered in 1941 as the nation's
first science education show. Curtailed by World War II, the show
nevertheless continued until 1946.
A final, but extremely significant accomplishment which Spitz
initiated during his service with the Franklin Institute began
in 1950. That year, Spitz coordinated and conducted the first
National Science Fair in cooperation with the National Science
Service. Held at the Franklin Institute, this event featured the
best science projects from high school students across the country.
Even though he is rarely mentioned in association with the program,
this annual gathering provides Spitz's most enduring contribution
to American popular science outside of the planetarium community.
As he did with so many other activities, Spitz used the National
Science Fair to show school children the possibility of combining
education and fun through science.
Armand the Author
As an outgrowth of his lectures at the Fels Planetarium, Spitz
started writing a simplified basic astronomy text designed to
teach the most prominent stars and constellations. He wanted this
book to be as readable as possible, recalling the difficulty he
had experienced while learning the stars. Therefore, he designed
it to be comprehended by and appeal to the school-age children
who most frequented the Fels Planetarium shows.
In 1940, Spitz convinced Henry Holt and Company to publish his book The Pinpoint Planetarium, which he divided into two sections. In the first half, Spitz related basic astronomical facts such as how apparent motions influence stars' visibility and retold some of the mythical stories related to star lore. A series of printed "star domes" comprised the second half of the book. By pricking holes in the printed star patterns, bending the domes into a bowl shape, and holding the proper one in front of a light, those stars and constellations which were visible that night appeared. Since the pages were cut out by many readers to make these domes, intact copies of this book are scarce.
Spitz was raised in the Quaker faith and, as an adult, often lectured
at the Newtown Square Friends Meeting of which he was a member.
For this group, Spitz penned a pamphlet in 1941 on "The Meaning
of the Quaker Meeting" which remained in use through his
death in 1971. Spitz did not abandon popular literature during
his involvement with the Newtown Friends Meeting, however.
While developing and installing a series exhibits on meteorology for school children at the Franklin Institute, Spitz decided the public wanted better explanations of how and why weather worked as it did. Mixing this realization with his drive to spread a love of science, he wrote a book to explain the weather. Enlisting the aid of Mrs. Harry Thomas Jordan, Spitz published his second book in 1943. A Start in Meteorology-An Introduction to the Science of the Weather was intended for laymen without extensive knowledge of mathematics or physics.
According to a contemporary review of the book, "it provides
a clear account of why the weather is what it is, and will enable
the careful and observant reader to make predictions of his own."
In accord with his personal interest in meteorology, Spitz drew
all of the illustrations and wrote the post-chapter questions
throughout this volume.
True to his drive to popularize science, Spitz included a gimmick
with this book. Built into the cover was a piece of chemically
treated paper which changed color according to humidity. Because
of this, the book itself was a weather instrument-a perfect example
of Spitz's belief that science could be entertaining, easy, and
accurate. A Start in Meteorology also coordinated nicely with
Spitz's work during World War II as a lecturer on meteorology
and celestial navigation at the Air-Mar Navigation school in Philadelphia.
The popularity of the book and Spitz's exhibits at the Franklin
Institute soon led him to set up a Department of Meteorology there,
of which he became the director.
Following World War II, Spitz took on several different independent
projects. He went to Puerto Rico as an educational consultant
for the United States Department of Education, advising on revisions
to science education. Spitz co-founded Science Associates in Princeton,
New Jersey to produce amateur astronomical and meteorological
equipment and, also in the year 1946, started the Amateur Weathermen
of America. In 1947, he became president of the Rittenhouse Astronomical
Society in Philadelphia and the next year, began a four-year term
as President of the Philadelphia Science Council. Around this
time Spitz also joined the American Astronomical Society.
Origins of the Model A
According to his long-time associate Nigel O'C. Wolff, Armand
Spitz held two key opinions throughout his life: "He believed
the planetarium was 'the greatest teaching instrument ever invented,'
and he felt it a shame a planetarium could be enjoyed only where
some philanthropist donated a huge sum to purchase and house a
Zeiss instrument." These twin motives inspired Spitz to begin
working on his planetarium as a commercial venture toward the
end of 1945. With a target price of $500, Spitz began developing
his miniature star sphere. After perfecting this portable planetarium,
Armand Spitz spent the next decade consumed with producing and
pitching it to amateurs around the country who were interested
in the stars.
The history of the Model A planetarium stretches back to the late
1930s, when Armand decided he should be able to give star shows
in his home to entertain his young daughter Verne. At the Fels
Planetarium, Armand had seen the awe children, and adults, had
for the planetarium sky and its stories. Unfortunately, only those
fortunate enough to live near major U.S. cities like Philadelphia,
New York, and Chicago could enjoy these sky shows. To make this
wondrous experience more widely available, Spitz resolved to try
and develop a smaller, cheaper planetarium.
The Franklin Institute only offered a moderate salary, but Spitz
eventually convinced several friends to help him finance his dream.
When Spitz began demonstrations with a hand-made prototype planetarium
in 1946, he soon realized that if he hoped to mass produce the
instrument he needed an easier shape into which to drill star
holes. Custom tooling to cut pinpoint holes in a sphere was just
too expensive and hand-piercing each unit required too much time
and effort.
Working through each of the regular solids, Spitz initially chose
a regular icosahedron to form his planetarium's star "ball".
This twenty-sided figure gave many flat surfaces into which star
drilling would be easy. A spate of intensive work followed as
Spitz plotted stars off of his celestial atlases onto the planetarium's
plates. Unfortunately, when he assembled this model, the acute
triangles required to form this shape were neither easy to cut
nor did they produce a three-dimensional shape nearly as spherical
as Spitz had intended. He needed a better design. Through his
work at the Franklin Institute and recent affiliation with Science
Associates in Princeton, Spitz had become acquainted with Albert
Einstein. One day, Spitz mentioned his efforts on the planetarium
and difficulties with the icosahedron. Einstein suggested the
process would be much simpler if Spitz used a dodecahedron to
approximate a sphere of stars. This idea proved quite workable
and, after another four months of work laying out the new star
maps onto plastic dodecahedral plates, Spitz had solved his problem
of mass-producing the star panels.
Although the flat pentagons of a dodecahedron made stacking and
drilling them easier, it distorted the plotting of stars on the
planetarium. Consequently, the early dodecahedral prototypes (which
Spitz drilled out by hand at his home and a friend's garage workshop)
needed constant tweaking. Thus, Spitz used a stack of small needles
and drill bits to enlarge or make new star holes in the plastic
panels. A simple black china marker served to reduce and correct
any imperfect or misplaced holes. Such last-minute adjustments
preceded most of the trial sales demonstrations of the early Spitz
travelling prototype planetarium.
One adjustment session immediately preceded the first official
presentation of the Model A made in 1947 at the Harvard Observatory.
This combined meeting of the American Association of Variable
Star Observers (AAVSO) and the Bond Astronomical Society gave
Spitz his first chance to have the Model A critiqued by professional
astronomers, so each star had to be perfect. From a ladder moved
into the Harvard observatory's dome, Spitz and Wolff gave a lecture
which showed off the possibilities of the Spitz planetarium to
the assembled astronomers and guests. The demonstration was a
great success, as were several others Spitz made on this trip.
When he returned to his home-office in Pennsylvania, Spitz had
received orders from across the country.
This success by no means marked the end to Armand's roving demonstrations,
however. Spitz also demonstrated his first commercially built
Model A planetarium to military officials at the Pentagon. On
the trip, the odd-shaped device was mistaken by one passerby as
an atomic bomb. This trip led each of the military training academies
to order Spitz planetaria to be used in their astronomical orientation
and navigation classes. The first commercial Model A which Spitz
had used in his Washington demonstration was placed into service
immediately afterwards at Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg,
Virginia.
Planetarium Pitchman
With a commercial version built, Spitz began showing off his unit
to as many people as possible, often hand carrying his demonstrator
model by air, rail, and road to the lectures. Often, as with an
American Airlines flight in 1948, he would give impromptu demonstrations
to interested passengers if a suitably dark area could be found.
Publicity in Sky and Telescope following the Harvard debut demonstration
drew rapid national interest for the Model A planetarium. When
the first full-page advertisement appeared in the October, 1947
issue, the Spitz Model A was offered at $500 plus freight from
Science Associates of Philadelphia. Orders came in for the Model
A from schools and universities throughout the United States as
well as internationally. Of the overseas customers, some were
educational centers but they also included foreign dignitaries
like King Farouk of Egypt.
During the first years of the Model A's production, many sales
and most product development occurred in the Spitz home. The massive
nature of this project forced Thanksgiving dinners to be buffets
since "the dining-room table and almost every other surface
in the house was piled high with models, tools, books, correspondence,
and parts of several planetariums." Such spartan manufacturing
arrangements came out of necessity. Spitz operated his company
in these early years from the money he and five friends had pooled.
Until museums and schools had been convinced his inexpensive instrument
could produce adequate star images, no major partners would back
him.
Despite this shoestring environment, in 1949 Spitz Laboratories
moved into an abandoned vacuum and carpet cleaner store, then
to an old movie theater on Woodland Avenue in southwestern Philadelphia.
This building became the factory and production center for the
next five years. Here, the Model A, its derivative the A-1, and
the Model B, were designed and tested under special domes. The
first major design change in Spitz planetaria also occurred here,
as the dodecahedron star panels went from plastic to metal.
Spitz Laboratories moved to Elkton, Maryland in 1953, when General
Development was called in for financial aid. Early Model A-1 planetaria
built at this plant included the first bright star/deep sky lens
elements inserted into the dodecahedron. When demand for Spitz
planetaria required an even larger facility, Spitz Laboratories
relocated again to Yorklyn, Delaware in 1955. This plant produced
the bulk of Model A-1 units and all the Model A-2 planetaria.
A final relocation came with a 1969 move to a custom factory in
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania instigated by the new owner McGraw Hill.
Armand Spitz was called by one associate "a man with an endless
stream of ideas." Almost anyone who knew him would confirm
the majority of those ideas focused on popularizing astronomy.
Although he had done this with his model Moon in the 1930s and
his two books in the early 1940s, Spitz's undeniable influence
in popular astronomy came through his selling of the Model A.
Armand Spitz took promotion of his planetarium to extremes and
heavily publicized unusual installations of his planetaria. As
previously noted, one Spitz Model A-the "Little Planetarium"
of Boston-was the world's first travelling planetarium. Its director
Charles Federer became a life-long friend to Armand and used his
position at Sky and Telescope to promote Spitz planetaria with
articles such as "Trail Blazing with Spitz Planetariums"
which essentially constituted feature-length advertisements.
The notion of a travelling Spitz planetarium was later picked
up by St John Terrell with his "Astrotarium." Using
an inflatable planetarium dome and a Spitz Model A-1 projector,
he departed Wichita, Kansas in 1958, then drove across the Midwest
where he set up the planetarium for shows in shopping center parking
lots. Coverage of these rolling Spitz star shows included a short
photo essay in the New York Times Magazine Sunday supplement.
Other unusual Spitz locations abounded. One was the "unusual
planetarium installation," cited in Popular Astronomy, erected
within the Ozark Mountains as a tourist attraction. According
to the wishes of Frank C. Thomas, a large cave on the outskirts
of Fayetteville, Arkansas housed this Spitz Model A-1 star theater.
Certainly, such positive coverage of extraordinary Spitz installations
in widely read astronomical and general publications augmented
interest in Spitz planetaria.
In a slightly different vein, Herbert N. Williams, convinced of
the Model A's effectiveness during a 1948 demonstration at the
Franklin Institute, was hired by Armand in 1952 as a travelling
planetarium salesman. With a Spitz Model A and a special collapsible
fourteen-foot canvas and aluminum dome in his station wagon, Williams
travelled some 40,000 miles over the next two years generating
sales for Spitz planetaria. When the Spitz product line expanded
beyond the size of his station wagon, Williams altered his methods
but not his enthusiasm for Spitz planetaria.
Armand Spitz himself devised several inventive methods for spreading
his Model A planetaria. Perhaps the most enduring was the idea
of selling stars to finance the purchase and installation of a
Spitz planetarium. By organizing efforts to sell "Astronomical
Quitclaim Deeds," Spitz doled out "parcels of the universe
... that shall remain tax-free until such time as there is habitation
of Space beyond the Planet Earth by earthly beings" in proportion
to the amount contributed by an individual or organization. Donations
of $1 bought common stars, fees from $100 to $250 bought the planets,
and $500 each purchased rights to the Sun and Moon. This scheme
financed many installations of Spitz planetaria across the country,
including those at the Boston Museum of Science (the "Little
Planetarium") and at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode
Island.
The furious years of development and relentless salesmanship which
Armand put into his Model A made Spitz Laboratories and its planetaria
highly profitable by the end of its first decade of existence.
Much of the early success stemmed directly from Spitz. Armand's
enthusiasm for popularizing astronomy was not, however, limited
to overseeing full-time production of his planetarium instruments.
On the contrary, Armand participated in many other notable projects
related to astronomy and science education throughout the Space-Race
oriented decade which began in the late 1950s.
Other Astronomical Activities
When Sputnik orbited in October of 1957, the Harvard-Smithsonian
Astrophysical Laboratory and Observatory asked Armand Spitz to
help coordinate its three-year old satellite prediction and tracking
program. Spitz took charge of the operation and soon had 5,000
volunteer observers spread across the United States and into other
countries. At various times this group operated as "Spitz's
Sputnik Spotters," "Project Moonwatch," and "Project
See-Saw." Spitz coordinated observations wired in from remote
spotters, ordering new watch schedules and passing results on
to the government. To tie in this work with his then highly successful
Model A-1 planetarium, Spitz developed an auxiliary Artificial
Satellite Projector that sold for $50.
Although he often worked from 5 A.M. to 11 P.M. in his office,
Armand also travelled the country recruiting observers and speaking
about the potential of satellites. In a 1958 speech to the Baltimore
Astronomical Society he remarked, "[I] would be surprised
if man reached the Moon during my lifetime." He added, however,
"if it were essential for man to reach the Moon, it could
be done, although the cost would be fantastic." By the time
Spitz died in 1971, six American astronauts had set foot on the
Moon and Armand had seen the launch of a Saturn 1-B rocket. Spitz
headed this highly successful program until 1962, when it was
absorbed into the NASA extended tracking network.
Aside from his work as the nation's chief satellite spotter, Spitz
found the 1950s an extremely busy decade. Spitz started five years'
service as a consultant for the National Science Foundation on
educational matters in 1956. The next year, he began eight years
of service on the governing committee of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. He had become a fellow of this
body back in 1942 and served as a representative of the group's
astronomical division between 1943 and 1957. In 1956, Otterbein
College of Westerville, Ohio awarded Armand Spitz an honorary
Doctorate of Science. This degree was conferred to recognize his
"philosophical work in education and science." It only
one of many honors which Spitz received to honor his development
of the world's first low-cost planetarium.
Following his divorce from Vera in 1957, Armand was seen regularly
at meetings of the Astronomical League and the National Capital
Astronomers with Grace C. Scholz. Grace was born in New York City
in 1912, graduated from Hunter College with her A.B. in 1933,
and completed graduate work at Columbia and the American University
from 1936 to 1940. Although Grace worked with various U.S. government
departments as a medical statistician for many years, she harbored
an enthusiasm for astronomy that rivaled Armand's.
Grace's astronomical interests had propelled her into five years
of service as executive secretary and two as president of the
Astronomical League by 1957 plus a year as president and four
as trustee of the National Capital Astronomers. During her presidency
of the Astronomical League, Grace began working with Armand to
coordinate Project Moonwatch stations. Eventually, their relationship
blossomed and they were married on 27 September 1958.
After their marriage, Grace and Armand travelled widely to astronomical
events promoting their mutual love for the stars by speaking at
amateur gatherings and helping raise funds for planetaria. The
two also headed several eclipse expeditions in this country and
overseas. Following Armand's death in 1971, Grace continued promoting
his ideas and planetaria for a few years before retiring to their
home in Fairfax, Virginia where she still lives.
Armand also conducted several editing and writing projects in
the 1950s. They included American Weatherman, a popular magazine
begun in 1949; Weatherwise, a magazine started in 1950 for the
American Meteorological Society; The Pointer, a journal of planetarium
education begun in 1952; and the Dictionary of Astronomy and Astronautics,
a reference book issued in 1959 that consolidated information
"previously available only to diligent searchers."
In 1958, Spitz revived the Monthly Evening Sky Map after the death
of its founding editor, a friend who had employed him as an editor
from 1937 to 1940. Spitz modified this magazine, turning it into
the Review of Popular Astronomy and sustaining it as a bimonthly
publication until 1969. In June of 1959, the Griffith Observer
carried a feature article by Spitz on the educational and entertainment
obligations of planetaria which defined planetarium directorship
thereafter.
Spitz's Sixties
The 1960s saw Spitz continuing his work as head of Spitz Laboratories
but otherwise working as a consultant and lecturer across the
country. From 1961 to 1963, he lectured to various teacher's groups
on science education in New York City. In 1962, he helped set
up a science center in Hawaii, even serving there as interim planetarium
director. Also in 1962, Spitz purchased Astro Murals, a Philadelphia
company that distributed copies of astronomical photographs taken
by the world's largest observatories. He operated this company,
largely from his home, until his death.
In 1963, Spitz wrote the script "Radio Astronomy: New Window
to the Universe" for the West Virginia Pavilion at the New
York World's Fair. Spitz gained a seat on the Board of Science
Education of Washington, D.C. in 1964; the same year he joined
the board of directors of Edmund Scientific, a distributor of
educational science materials, located in New Jersey. While performing
these duties, Spitz also wrote numerous magazine articles on a
wide range of subjects. He summed up early Ranger mission photos
of the Moon, presented a philosophical essay on the meaning of
planetaria, and continued popular writing on historical events
in astronomy.
The last major project in which Armand was involved concerned
funding and building the first Spitz Space Transit Planetarium
(STP) which opened in Miami, Florida in 1966. This revolutionary
design introduced fourth axis of rotation and unidirectional seating
to planetaria. Active in promoting the project, Armand Spitz was
not healthy enough to speak at the dedication of this facility.
He did visit it during construction, however, and attended the
first Saturn 1-B launch at Cape Kennedy on his return trip to
Virginia.
Armand Spitz retired as head of his Laboratories in 1969 when
McGraw Hill purchased it and moved the facility from Yorklyn,
Delaware to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where it remains today.
Armand Spitz died of complications from a heart attack on 14 April
1971, in Fairfax Hospital, near his home also in Fairfax, Virginia.
Prior to this attack, he had suffered mild strokes over a period
of roughly five years, and his health had been declining each
time. Despite his degraded condition, Armand taped a final message
to the planetarium community which was played at an annual gathering
in 1971. Certainly, no words are better than his own to summarize
Spitz's life-long contributions to planetaria:
"The fact remains that into a sea of relative placidity,
I was privileged to drop the proverbial pebble and the ripples
have been moving outward ever since."
A Spitz Jr. planetarium gets a test drive.
Selected References
"Armand N. Spitz Dies; Designed Planetariums." Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin. April 17, 1971.
"Armand Spitz at CAPE." Planetarian. June, 1972. p 7.
Associated Press. "Observers Plan Satellite Posts."
New York Times. June 10, 1956. p 38.
Chamberlain. "The Development of the Planetarium in the United
States." Annual Report of the Smithsonian. p 274.
"Dr. Armand Spitz Dies; Writer on Astronomy." Washington
Evening Star. April 16, 1971.
Federer, Charles A. "Armand N. Spitz-Planetarium Inventor."
Sky and Telescope. June, 1971. p 354.
Hoffman, Ellen. "Armand N. Spitz, Astronomer, Dies."
Washington Post. April 16, 1971. C-10.
K., W. "Cave Planetarium." New York Times. February
26, 1950. p 9.
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Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. November 3, 1957.
Ludhe, Ernest; Watson, Paul S.; Washburn, Bradford; Huey, Edward;
and Gillotti, Frances J. "Trail Blazing with Spitz Planetariums."
Sky and Telescope. January, 1949. p 66-69.
"Man-Made Moon." Science Illustrated. August, 1947.
p 9.
Nitzsche, George E. "Review of A Start in Meteorology."
General Magazine and Historical Chronicle of the University of
Pennsylvania. Spring, 1944.
"Obituary of Mrs. Armand N. Spitz (Vera Golden)." Philadelphia
Inquirer. April 25, 1962.
Schran, John. "The Age of the Spitz Dodecahedron." Phenomena.
Fall 1993/Winter 1994. p 3.
Science Associates. "Announcing the Spitz Planetarium."
Sky and Telescope. October, 1947. p. 27.
"Space Show." New York Times Magazine. October 26, 1958.
p 30.
Spencer, Steven M. "The Stars are His Playthings." Saturday
Evening Post. April 24, 1954. p 97.
Spitz Laboratories Incorporated. "An Unusual Planetarium
Installation." Popular Astronomy. April, 1950. p 195.
Spitz, Armand N. "Report on the Educational Activities of
the Franklin Institute." Journal of the Franklin Institute.
November, 1944. p 368.
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Biography. Vol 56. James T. White, 1975. p 421.
Spitz, Grace S. The First Armand Spitz Lecture. Spitz Incorporated, p 8.
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Who's Who Incorporated, 1973. p 683.
This article is Chapter 4 of the master's thesis "Armand
Neustadter Spitz and his Planetaria: with Historical Notes of
the Model A at the University of Florida," written by Brent
P. Abbatantuono in August of 1994 and printed in the Planetarian,
March 1995, by permission. A copy of the entire work with extensive
references may be purchased for $15.00 from him at the address
above. For further information, contact the author at this address
or via email at brenta{at}worldramp.net.
