The Merrillville Community Planetarium is a part of the Merrillville Community School Corporation, a K-12 public school system in Northwest Indiana. The Merrillville school system is comprised of five elementary schools (grades K to 4), one intermediate school (grades 5 and 6), one middle school (grades 7 and 8), and one high school (grades 9 to 12). For 2004-05, the Merrillville schools had an enrollment of about 6,800 students. The Planetarium is located in Clifford Pierce Middle School.

Merrillville has a population of about 31,000. Merrillville is nestled among the many communities of Lake County — Gary to our north, Hobart to our east, Crown Point to our south, and Schererville to our west. Lake County, in turn, is bordered by the Illinois state line to the west and Lake Michigan to the north. Within Lake County, Merrillville stands at the intersection of I-65 and U.S. 30 and located just south of I-80/94.

The retail and hospitality center of Merrillville is located at the intersection of I-65 and U.S. 30 (exit 253). A major theater venue for the Chicago area – The Star Theatre – is located in the northwest corner of I-65 and U.S. 30. The largest shopping mall of Northwest Indiana – Westfield Southlake (formerly Southlake Mall) – is located in the southeast corner of I-65 and U.S. 30. Most of the national hotel chains can be found in the southeast, southwest, and northwest corners of I-65 and U.S. 30 and in the southeast corner of I-65 and 61st Avenue. Many restaurants and retail stores are located along U.S. 30 both east and west of I-65.

Intersection of I-65 and US-30