Reconstructed after 2023 Fire, YSU Planetarium Reopens

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Like the captain of a starship, Curt Spivey sits behind a futuristic bank of controls and computer screens and leads his guests on a sightseeing tour of the solar system.

He manipulates the helm buttons to zoom up to Mars. Then he makes a pass by the rings of Saturn before heading out to the stars.

Spivey, the engineer of the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University, was showing off the facility’s capabilities Tuesday for media members.

The planetarium gets its grand reopening this week. It had been closed for reconstruction since a Jan. 8, 2023, fire caused severe damage.

Crews working on the roof of the domed structure accidentally started the fire. Spivey didn’t know the exact cost of the renovation work, but he said it exceeded $1 million.

The 144-seat planetarium is one of the gems of the YSU campus. When it opened in 1967, it was the only college classroom-planetarium in the country.

During the roughly 21 months of reconstruction, YSU astronomy classes took place in regular classrooms. Professors used Power Point slides in place of the planetarium, Spivey said.

He was understandably excited to get the facility back in action.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen,” Spivey said. “It was a long process to get to where we are today.”

The reconstruction involved replacing the dome, carpeting, the Chronos star projector and the lighting. The seats were undamaged and were not replaced, and neither were the two projectors that are mounted along the base of the dome across from each other.

The Chronos star projector, which sits in the middle of the room, is the same year, make and model as the previous one. That was done intentionally because it made it easier to incorporate it into the computers and other technological devices. 

The new Chronos was purchased from the same company YSU bought the previous one from some 20 years ago. Fortunately, the company still had one in stock, Spivey said.

Even though it has the same capabilities, it works better than the previous one because the wiring has been upgraded.

“The old one was using 1960s wiring,” Spivey said. “We literally had to use car fuses with it.”

Patrick Durrell, director of the planetarium and a professor of astronomy at YSU, was also glad to have the facility up and running again. “When you’re used to giving shows and talking to people about astronomy, 21 months is a long time,” he said.

A planetarium is a custom building, Durrell said, and therefore constructing one requires close communication. The architect, construction companies and university personnel worked together on the project and met the goal of having classes resume in the facility for the fall 2024 semester.

“They all did a fantastic job,” Durrell said.

While the reopening of the planetarium is “massively exciting,” Durrell said the big day will come this weekend when the public gets to see it for the first time.

There will be free shows for the public at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5, at which Durrell and Spivey will show off the new planetarium and its features. The planetarium always maintains a full schedule of public programming each season, and the 2024-25 lineup will also be previewed at this weekend’s shows.

The first show on the schedule will be “Nightlights,” the annual spooky Halloween offering. It will be shown at 8 p.m. Oct. 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26. There will also be a 3 p.m. show Oct. 26.

“Nightlights” was created by Ward Beecher Planetarium in 1974 and is marking its 50th anniversary this year. It has become a popular tradition over the years for many people, Durrell said, noting that it is annually upgraded and improved.

“It has evolved over the years and is now completely digital,” he said. “We are always adding to it and changing it.”

“Night-Light,” a less scary children’s version of the show, will be shown at 2 p.m. Oct. 12, 19 and 26.

To see the complete schedule, go to wbplanetarium.org or call 330 941 1370.

Pictured at top: Curt Spivey, Ward Beecher Planetarium engineer, sits behind the controls.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.