New planetarium at the Ů�źϼ� Museum of the North ready to open

April 17, 2026

By Rod Boyce, Ů�źϼ�F Geophysical Institute

The stars finally aligned to bring a planetarium to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Now it’s ready for the public.

The at the Ů�źϼ� Museum of the North will open Saturday, April 25, International Astronomy Day.

Audience members sit in reclined theater seats, looking up at a curved dome screen displaying a vivid space scene during a movie screening. The image shows the interior of the Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium, where attendees and guests enjoy a pre-opening screening on March 31, with the immersive projection filling the entire ceiling. — Photo by Eric Marshall
A Ů�źϼ�F audience and guests enjoy a pre-opening movie screening March 31 in the new Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium.

A grand opening day of free activities will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include night sky tour and full-dome show previews every 20 minutes in the 65-seat planetarium. The event will also include hands-on activities, a scavenger hunt and more for the public to see and do.

The planetarium is named for Walt and Marita Babula, the formerly anonymous donors whose $7.4 million donation funded the construction. The couple’s gift is the single largest ever to the University of Alaska from living individuals.

The planetarium is a collaboration between the Ů�źϼ� Museum of the North and the Ů�źϼ�F Geophysical Institute.

“The Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium is where science and storytelling meet,” planetarium director Omega Smith said. “It’s a place where complex ideas become immersive experiences and where every visit has the potential to ignite curiosity and deepen our understanding of the world, and universe, around us.”

“We are thrilled about having the community come into our dome for the first time,” she said.

The Babulas, in a written statement in October, noted that Fairbanks has been their home for several decades.

“We are pleased to give back to a community that we love,” they wrote.

The planetarium, they said, will provide space science education opportunities for K-12 and higher education students and become a place that “will spark the curiosity of Alaskans and visitors from around the globe about our Alaska culture and vast universe.”

Aerial view of the Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium shows a white, modern complex surrounded by snow-covered forest and hills under clear winter light. The image, taken in November 2025, shows the planetarium addition to the west side of the Ů�źϼ� Museum of the North. The square planetarium addition is visible at left. — Photo by Eric Marshall
Construction of the Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium, shown in November 2025, began in May 2025.

The 5,700-square-foot planetarium includes an 11-meter (36-foot) dome, two 4K-resolution projectors, four image-generation computers and 5.1 digital surround sound.

Additional donors to the project include the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and longtime Ů�źϼ�F supporters Sarah and Cary Keller. The trust pledged nearly $500,000 toward the planetarium’s projection and sound systems. The Kellers committed $250,000 in start-up funding for the planetarium director position. Other contributors include the Michael and Lynn Rice Estate, Davis Constructors & Engineers, and RESPEC.

“This is a space built for our community, where we can be curious, be connected and be cosmic,” Smith said. “I can't wait to see everyone under our dome.”

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Omega Smith, omegasmith@alaska.edu; Patrick Druckenmiller, psdruckenmiller@alaska.edu