Carnegie Science Center Unveils Upgrades To Buhl Planetarium, New Addition To Miniature Railroad

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The first part of a major renovation to the Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center is complete.

Phase one of the multi-million dollar project involved a major technological upgrade to, as the Carnegie Science Center says, make the planetarium more immersive and realistic.

"This technology enables us to provide magnificent educational programs to wide-eyed school children, amaze adults with astronomic details, and reestablish Pittsburgh as a destination for public space exploration," Henry Buhl, Jr., Director of Carnegie Science Center Jason Brown, said.

The upgrades will also improve accessibility with assistive listening devices, closed captioning glasses, and "handheld star globes" to provide a "tactile representation of the night sky."

The Buhl Planetarium will reopen this Saturday.

The Science Center is also unveiling a new feature in its Miniature Railroad and Village display.

The new model honors the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and Pittsburgher Daisy Lampkin, with an image of her and her home in the Hill District.

Lampkin was one of America's leading suffragists and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.

"I am so excited to help celebrate this new and creative way to honor the amazing contribution that my grandmother made to this community and to American history," Lampkin's grandson, Earl Childs, DDM, said in a news release.

The Science Center is currently open, but with limited occupancy.