The Olsztyn planetarium is closing for a year and a half; it will undergo renovations and a name change.

The Olsztyn Planetarium will close in mid-September for a year and a half. During this time, the facility will undergo renovations, including a renovated dome and the construction of a lunar habitat. The planetarium will be renamed the Astrosfera Space Flight Center.

On Monday, Olsztyn Mayor Robert Szewczyk signed a contract with the Przasnysz-based company Rembud for a major renovation of the planetarium building and the construction of a lunar habitat. The habitat will be a place where visitors will experience the conditions on the Moon. Visitors will be able to ride a lunar rover, experience how it navigates the Moon, what it eats on it, and what can be seen from it. The habitat will be built on the site where the Planeta 11 library was located until recently.

During the renovation, the planetarium dome, where viewers view the sky, will be refurbished. Currently composed of a series of small rectangles, it will be a smooth surface after the renovation. A space playroom for young children and an exhibition in the lobby will also be created, which will introduce space to those waiting for the screening. The projection room will be entered from the Space Flight Center; the lobby will be designed specifically for this purpose. "We will hang screens on the walls, similar to those seen watching spaceflight broadcasts. The area will be slightly darkened so that those waiting can adjust to the darkness in the projection room," said planetarium director Magdalena Pilska-Piotrowska.

The planetarium director announced that the projector for the films displayed on the dome will also be replaced, and the current one will be placed in the entrance hall as an exhibit.

During the renovation, the ticket office and cloakroom will be relocated, and the restrooms and sanitary facilities for visitors will be expanded. As is currently the case, the planetarium will accommodate 160 viewers at a time.

Because the planetarium is located some distance from the former library where the lunar habitat is planned, Pilska-Piotrowska announced that the two buildings will be connected by a tunnel. The tunnel will be designed as a space-like space, so that anyone walking to the habitat will have the sensation of space flight.

"Since we will be a completely different space after the renovation and will be expanding our operations, we have decided to change the name. After the renovation, it will be the Astrosfera Space Flight Center," Pilska-Piotrowska announced. This name is intended to reference other facilities operating in the city – the Aquasfera swimming pool complex and the Kortosfera science center. "We wanted the names to be consistent; all facilities work for the good of the city," Pilska-Piotrowska said.

The cost of both the planetarium's construction and adapting the rooms to the habitat's needs is nearly PLN 41 million. "Because this is an important investment not only for the city but also for the region, we have been supported by the Marshal's Office with European funds," said the Mayor of Olsztyn. EU funding will total nearly PLN 36 million.

Equipping the Astrosphere will cost over PLN 30 million. The total cost of the planetarium modernization project and the creation of a habitat is expected to be nearly PLN 72.5 million.

The Olsztyn Planetarium opened on February 19, 1973, on the 500th anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus's birth. The astronomer had ties to Olsztyn, having lived for several years at Olsztyn Castle, where a priceless memento remains – an astronomical table.

The planetarium building was designed by Ludomir Gosławski, and the mosaic of enameled elements was created by Stefan Knapp. Because the planetarium building is listed on the register of historic monuments, some of its elements will remain unchanged, including the flooring, the painting of the nebula with a horse, and the red mosaic, which most viewers touch upon entering the screening room.

The planetarium closes on September 15th. Renovations are expected to last 20 months.

The Olsztyn planetarium is visited by 90,000 people annually. (PAP)

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