A Long Time Coming

Mr. John Morehead's gift of a planetarium to the people of his state was completed on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1949. The Morehead-Cain Scholarship wing was added, and the building was air conditioned in 1969. Four decades passed before the next major renovation was attempted.

In 2012, members of the Board of Advisors were asked to find a way to keep school groups from getting wet while waiting to enter the planetarium.

The solution was to re-route the visitor flow, bringing guests through the massive columns and lobby in front instead of through a side door opening into the retail area. Getting to the planetarium from the lobby required passing through a circular exhibit area in the former Orrery. By eliminating the walls encircling the room and incorporating the hallways around it, the size of the exhibit area doubled. By removing staff offices on the south side and the front office areas on the north, the exhibit areas were enlarged twice more.

In 2013, Director Todd Boyette assembled a team including Jeff Hill, Omar Bell and Adam Phelps to raise the funds required to make the improvements. Joan Gillings got the project started with a check for an architectural review of the feasibility of the sketch plans. She followed up with a major contribution for the Joan Gillings Atrium. Richard Hibbits wrote the next check to open a wall open to examine the steel framing system and followed up with a contribution for the Launch Lab. David King made a gift in honor of his father, past President of the American Astronomical Society, astronomer Ivan R. King for the Ivan R. King Gateway Gallery. Other major contributors without whose help this project would not have been possible were Austin Stephens, Brigid and Erik Troan, Steve Butts, and Ann and Charlie Sanders to name a few of the many generous donors.

Getting it done.

Director Boyette led a design and construction team including Jay Heinz, Susan Durham, Lizz Alfano, Adrienne Garwood, Nate Davis, Sarah Take, Denise Young, and Richard Hibbits, who interviewed designers and architects. Watson Tate Savory from Columbia, SC was selected for the plans. Their team, including John McLean and Matt Allen completed plans in 2019 and met on site weekly during construction. A team from Mycotoo from Los Angeles, CA, led by Seth Cover was selected for the exhibits.

Planning started when contractors needed work. Approvals from the university and state took until Fall of 2018, when contractors had more work than they could do. No bids were submitted.

The plans were revised and re-bid in early 2019. BAR Construction Company from Greensboro, NC won the bid using a re-engineered plan for the elevator. Dwayne Layton was the project manager and Tim Hodges supervised the project on site. An ADA compliant elevator was designed and shoehorned into an existing shaft by Johnathan Fox of Resolute Elevator Company. Keith Larson, Keith Beaman, and Danny Neudorff of Moonlite Construction Company led the extensive electrical work. David Simms of Simms Mechanical Solutions coordinated with Todd Hedrick and Drew Landen of Optima Engineering fixed as much of the HVAC system as the budget allowed.

The planetarium was shut down and construction began in May 2019 and was completed in March 2020. Ross Wood represented the State of North Carolina. A team from UNC including Chris Glenn and Joe Fenton worked with the contractor and subs in weekly meetings on site with the design and construction team. Installation of the exhibits began in September and completed for re-opening in November 2020.