Around the same time Ostoja-Kotkowski was developing his “chromasonic” sound-and-image productions, physicist Elsa Garmire was wowing students at the California Institute of Technology with her own argon laser shows. The latter caught the attention of Los Angeles filmmaker Ivan Dryer, who went on to found Laserium Cosmic Laser Shows — a program of laser effects set to music that could be used in planetariums.

Enter the Laser Dome.

The Laser Dome (here, under construction) was originally dubbed the "Spacerium" when it debuted as a planetarium for the 1962 World's Fair. (Pacific Science Center)

The planetarium at Pacific Science Center started out as the Spacearium, one of the many futuristic exhibits developed for the 1962 World’s Fair. Hoping to cash in on the laser trend, the Spacearium became the Laserium in 1975. At the time, The Seattle Times called it “a promising new form of entertainment, with many artistic possibilities.”

Forty-five years later, the Laser Dome is still delivering on that promise. The 76-foot-diameter dome housed at Seattle Center is the largest facility in the U.S. dedicated to laser shows. It's also the longest running laser dome since the debut of laser shows in the early 1970s.