“The final time we used the original Minnesota Planetarium Society/Bell Museum ExploraDome was at the MN State Fair, August 24 2017, after approximately 1,013 days in use! We did not retire it out of necessity. This one could have kept going for who knows how long!” — Sally Brummel, Planetarium Director for the Bell Museum

Since 2006, The Bell Museum of Natural History’s Exploradome has traveled to schools and community sites to bring to them the wonders of the universe. It was the first GeoDome Theater we deployed as a turnkey system. Ahead of the opening of the new Bell Museum + Planetarium in 2018, the team at the Bell is launching a new ExploraDome for the 2017-2018 school year, and they’ve upgraded to a new GeoDome Theater system.

The ExploraDome, then run by the Minnesota Planetarium Society, was the founding partner of the Minnesota Regional Planetarium Network. Planetariums are located in K12 school districts, universities, and museums across Minnesota, Wisconsin, North & South Dakota. The regional planetarium network shares costs, resources and programming opportunities, with a collaborative focus on teaching and learning in both fixed and portable domes.

We’re excited to support the Exploradome over the next 11 years!