Shiras Planetarium hoping to make big upgrades

MARQUETTE — Since 1965, the Shiras Planetarium, located inside Marquette Senior High School, has been giving Yoopers a view into the worlds beyond our own.

Of course, many upgrades in the technology have been completed since then, but now, those in charge of maintaining the planetarium say it’s time for the latest advancements.

Fundraising efforts are underway to bring in state of the art digital projection systems, new seating, and more powerful sound and technical hardware. It doesn’t come cheap, however. The Shiras Planetarium is working to raise $1.6 million to allow the space to grow, and remain an educational fixture in the area.

“Currently, what we have is our star projector –  all we can do is show a current night sky just as you would see outside, feet on the ground, which is awesome,” said Planetarium Director, Becky Simmons. “But the digital projection allows us to teach more than just astronomy. All of our grade levels teachers could teach English, History, all kinds of content.”

Laser shows are being held at the planetarium using one of the projection systems as a way to help raise money for continued operations. A link to the dates and times for those shows is available HERE.