Experience Dinosaurs And Super Volcanoes At The SCSU Planetarium

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- For 53 years now, the St. Cloud area has been able to see the universe with the help of the St. Cloud State University Planetarium.

During the 2024-2025 academic year, the SCSU Planetarium had 88 scheduled shows for over 2,400 stargazing visitors.

Rachel Humphrey is the Associate Professor of Meteorology and Science Education. She says the shows they offer go beyond just astronomy.

We have a projection system that allows us to put up movies that are not just focused on astronomy.  So, we have movies about dinosaurs and super volcanoes. We were very fortunate to get a couple of movies from the Bell Museum focusing on Minnesota in the cosmos.

Every movie is followed by a tour of the night sky.

Shows are on an on-demand schedule Monday through Friday in groups of 10 or more often times for schools, scouts, and others.

Humphrey says our facility here is pretty unique.

We are one of only 16 or 17 in the United States that have the star ball. So our star ball, which is the projection system that puts up all the cool stuff on the dome, is not a digital projector; it's an analog projector, which means it's extremely precise.

Humphrey says St. Cloud State students use the planetarium as part of the astronomy classes. It is also free to SCSU groups and students.

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The St. Cloud Community Education Program offered shows on February 10th and March 11th, which sold out immediately. Humphry says they've added additional Community Ed shows on February 12th and March 17th, due to the high demand.

Additionally, on March 14th, the Planetarium is partnering with the city of St. Cloud's Park and Recreation Department for its annual Stars and S'mores