Adler Planetarium Prepares To Reopen For First Time Since Start Of Pandemic, With Some Stellar New Additions
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This March, you may find yourself gravitating toward Adler Planetarium.
The Planetarium is fully reopening for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and as CBS 2's Tim McNicholas found out, some of its new additions are out of this world.
We met Mike Smail as he got ready to leave the earth for a huge interstellar cloud – without ever leaving the Chicago lakefront.
Smail, the director of theaters and digital experiences the Adler Planetarium, invited CBS 2's McNicholas along on the space journey at the planetarium's iconic dome theater.
He'll soon invite you too.
"We're over the moon - pun intended - at the opportunity to get the public and get guests back in the Adler, meet them, engage them," Smail said.
It's an opportunity he has missed since March of 2020 - the last time the Planetarium was fully open to the public.
A letter posted online last summer explained that due to financial challenges, the planetarium could not fully reopen until March. This week, the staff is preparing down to the letter - fixing signage and display cases.
"Incredibly happy," Smail said. "Counting down the minutes."
You will still find all your old favorites, like the chance to touch an actual piece of Mars or the moon. but the Planetarium is also excited about some new additions."
In the Doane Observatory, director of public observing Michelle Nicholas said the staff have been "chomping at the bit" wanting to use the new telescope.
The Planetarium installed that massive new telescope in early 2020. But Nichols explained it has been lost in orbit since the pandemic started.
"We've literally only used it about 10 times in the last two years," Nichols said.
Now, they'll open up the roof for the public to use it on Wednesday nights.
And this July, the Planetarium will welcome another new addition - a life-size replica of the Perseverance Rover, which is currently on Mars.
"The main thing is direct interaction with people and the sky, and that's what we do best," Nichols said.
The big reopening date for the Adler Planetarium is Friday, March 4. You can get tickets now.
