Lakeland, Fla. – September 23, 2026 -- Florida Southern College will reopen its Frank Lloyd Wright designed Planetarium to the public this month, restoring the historic space to educational and public use for the first time in more than two decades.
Public shows begin September 26 with tickets starting at $15
Located inside the Polk Science Building, the Planetarium is the only one ever built from a Frank Lloyd Wright design. It sits within Florida Southern's collection of 13 Wright structures, the largest single-site collection of his architecture anywhere. Public shows run Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m., starting Saturday, Sept. 26. Tickets cost $20 per person, or $15 per person for families and groups of four or more, and are sold separately from the college's Wright architectural tours.
Six rotating programs cover Mars, exoplanets and the search for meaning
The lineup includes Cosmic Adventure, Destination Mars: The New Frontier, From Earth to the Universe, God, Science, and Our Search for Meaning, Oasis in Space, and Undiscovered Worlds: The Search Beyond Our Sun. Individual shows run roughly 20 to 32 minutes, while the full visit -- including a history of the space -- lasts about 60 to 90 minutes. The Planetarium will also host school field trips, community groups and Florida Southern students and faculty.
A new projection system replaces equipment that failed in 2004
The reopening caps a multiphase restoration: exterior work funded by the State of Florida and private donors, interior restoration backed by federal Save America's Treasures funding, and a final phase -- also state-funded -- that installed a new COSM projection system and Bowen sound system. Built between 1954 and 1958, the Planetarium held its first show on April 7, 1960, and once offered four public shows a year alongside astronomy classes before its projector stopped working in 2004.
"Reopening the Planetarium allows us to bring an important part of Florida Southern's history back to life while creating new opportunities for our students and the community,