MacMillan Planetarium at the New Bell Museum

Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium,
at the University of Minnesota’s, St. Paul campus

© Peter J. Sieger

The Bell Museum Lobby

The MacMillan Planetarium is housed within a concrete cylinder at the heart of the Bell Museum’s new facility. More importantly, the museum is located on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. The theater at the MacMillan offers state-of-the-art projection capabilities that go beyond astronomy. Resulting in, content that will include the presentation of scientific research across disciplines.
In addition, the outdoor terrace will be available for observation, events and private rentals.

The theater includes state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment designed by Sciss, a leading international
planetarium developer. Sciss included 4 Bag End, Infra processed, self powered, IPD12E-I subwoofers.

Several planetariums throughout the United States have Bag End Basses installed. For example, the Hayden Planetarium
in New York, which was an early project of Sciss.

Digital planetariums are no longer limited to astronomy and space science. The Bell Museum intends to
pair its cutting edge technology with the latest data from the University of Minnesota. Researchers will produce data
visualizations that span the arts and sciences. Consequently, this will take audiences from the far reaches of the universe to deep
inside the human brain.

The planetarium will also be available for private rentals and events, including weddings under the stars.

Sciss confirms that the Bell’s technology places it among the top national planetarium presenters.

Exterior Rendering of the Bell Museum