Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium facts for kids
 |
|
|
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
|
|
Front of the main building
|
|
 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 1302 Main St., St. Johnsbury, Vermont |
|---|---|
| Area | 1 acre |
| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | Packard, Lambert |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Website | www.fairbanksmuseum.org |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001344 |
| Added to NRHP | January 1, 2008 |
| Museum Director | Adam Kane (2014–) |
| Planetarium Director, Senior Meteorologist | Mark Breen (1981–) |
The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a cool place in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It's like three places in one! You can explore natural science, learn about history, and discover the stars in its planetarium.
A man named Franklin Fairbanks started the museum in 1890. He was a businessman, a politician, and loved nature and collecting things. The museum buildings are so special that they are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Eye on the Sky Weather Center is a special station at the museum. It has been forecasting weather since 1893! Meteorologists (weather scientists) here share their unique forecasts. They tell people in Vermont, New Hampshire, and nearby areas about the weather. You can hear them on Vermont Public Radio and Magic 97.7. They also write daily weather forecasts for three newspapers. These are The Caledonian Record, Times Argus, and Rutland Herald.
The Lyman Spitzer Jr. Planetarium opened in 1960. It's inside the museum. Here, you can watch amazing public astronomy shows. They also teach classes about different space science topics. The planetarium also creates the Eye on the Night Sky radio program. Plus, they write Night Owl articles about astronomy and spaceflight for online and print.
Contents
Museum History: How It Started
The Fairbanks family had a long history in St. Johnsbury. Their company, Fairbanks Scales, had its main office and factories there since the 1820s. Franklin Fairbanks, who started the museum, used to be the president of this company. His father and uncle first started it.
Franklin Fairbanks already owned the land where the museum now stands. Workers prepared the spot in 1889. The main building started being built on July 4, 1890. Franklin's wife, Frances Clapp Fairbanks, helped lay the first stone. The building was ready by spring 1891 and opened later that year.
Lambert Packard designed the building. It looks like the Romanesque style, using red sandstone and limestone. The museum grew bigger in 1894. This was to hold all the new items. Before this, Franklin kept his collections in his own house, Undercliffe Mansion, since the 1870s. Many of the museum's main items came from Franklin's own collection. The museum was built just to show them off!
The planetarium and space gallery were added between 1959 and 1960. They replaced an old exhibit called the Colonial Room. The planetarium opened to the public in April 1961. It became the only public planetarium in Vermont. It has been updated many times and is still running today.
In 2017, the Shippee Family Eye Care Butterfly House was built. It's in the courtyard behind the museum. This open structure has a canopy and benches. You can walk among native butterflies and local flowers during the summer. It's a really cool experience!
The Fairbanks Museum has been open almost all the time since it started. It usually closes for a short time in January for cleaning and changing exhibits. Normal hours were 10 AM to 5 PM every day. But, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum closed in March 2020. It partly reopened from July to December 2020. The museum fully reopened in early March 2021. The planetarium reopened with some rules in late May 2021. Even when the museum was closed, the weather station and some classes kept going online. They also gave updates about the pandemic to local people.
From 2020 to 2023, big changes and building work are happening. They are adding a new part called the "Tang Science Annex" to the main building. This will create more space for exhibits and make the museum easier to get around. The U.S. Department of Commerce is helping pay for this. They are also doing general repairs and keeping the building in good shape.
What You Can See: Museum Collections
The museum has six main types of collections. You can see these in its logo and hexagon shapes around the museum. They are: Natural History, Geoscience, Ethnology (about cultures), Engineering, Meteorology (weather), and Astronomy. The museum has about 175,000 objects in total! Many items are kept safely in storage when they are not on display.
The museum's exhibits include many cool things. You can see natural specimens and a table with seasonal wildflowers. There's a native butterfly house and a flower garden. You can also see a real beehive where bees are working! There are artistic pieces made from insects. You'll find taxidermy displays of animals like moose, bison, flamingos, and bears. There are also displays of endangered and extinct species. You can even see dinosaurs and fossils!
The museum also has displays about geology (rocks and Earth), different cultures, and old things from around the world. On the second floor, there's an exhibit about how ice crystals form in the air. It shows amazing photos by Snowflake Bentley, who was a friend of Franklin Fairbanks. You can also see old manufacturing tools and scales from the E & T Fairbanks Scales Company. Franklin's father and uncle, Erastus and Thaddeus Fairbanks, started this company. The museum often holds classes for local schools and groups. You can also listen to an audio tour as you walk around.
Weather Center: Predicting the Sky
The Fairbanks family started keeping weather records in St. Johnsbury way back in the 1870s. These records were first at the Undercliffe mansion. Then, they moved to the Fairbanks Museum in 1891. Regular weather recordings have been happening at the same spot since late 1893. Franklin Fairbanks himself liked to record the weather. This is part of why the museum continues to report on weather today. The weather tools are mostly behind the main building. They are also part of a weather exhibit. Some tools are on a special frame on the museum roof.
The Northern New England Weather Center, also known as the Eye on the Sky Weather Center, started in November 1981. Meteorologists Steve Maleski and Mark Breen created it. They continued sending written weather reports to the NWS. But they also started forecasting for local radio and newspapers. They built studios for the meteorologists to broadcast from. The weather center used to be in the museum's basement. People sometimes wondered how forecasters could see the sky without windows! In 2017, the studios moved to another building behind the museum.
The weather center creates the Eye on the Sky daily forecast. It also makes the Eye on the Night Sky weekly forecast for astronomy. Plus, they publish the Skywatch Almanac, which is a newsletter and online blog about weather and astronomy.
Planetarium: Exploring Space
The Lyman Spitzer Jr. Planetarium and Vinton Space Science Gallery is often called the "Spitzer Planetarium". You can find it at the top of a spiral staircase on the second floor. It was built between 1959 and 1960. It first opened to the public in April 1961. The planetarium is named after Lyman Spitzer Jr.. He was a famous scientist who helped start modern astrophysics and how we watch the stars.
In the planetarium lobby, there's a space science gallery. Here, you can see amazing photos of space from the Northern Skies Observatory nearby. There are also images from the Spitzer Space Telescope. You can even see an iron-nickel meteorite found in Patagonia! The gallery also has a special Fairbanks Scale. It shows how much you would weigh on the Moon or other planets in our Solar System.
The planetarium offers live shows and movies. They cover many topics. You can learn about stargazing in your backyard. You can also learn about the history of astronomy. They talk about constellations and their stories from different cultures. You can learn about how to navigate by the stars. They also teach about artificial satellites, space missions, and exploring the Moon. Other topics include planetary science, the Sun, planets outside our solar system, and how spacecraft move. It's one of only two public planetariums in northern New England. The other is the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.
Planetarium Upgrades: Better Views
The area where the planetarium is now used to have an exhibit about Vermont's colonial period. When it first opened, the planetarium had simple folding chairs around a projector. In the early 1980s, these chairs were replaced with curved benches.
In 2012, the planetarium got a big upgrade. They installed new digital equipment and software. This made the shows much better and allowed for special 360° videos. But don't worry, the old equipment from the 1960s is still on display! You can see the control panel and a cool 12-sided shape with tiny holes that used to project stars.
The planetarium was made even better between 2018 and 2019. They replaced the benches with modern theater seats. They also moved the screen forward. This means more people can watch comfortably. An elevator was also added. Now, it's easier for everyone to get from the museum entrance to the planetarium lobby.
Events and Outreach: Sharing the Stars
The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium holds a Guinness World Record! In 2018, 1,580 people came to a 40-minute astronomy program. It was held across the street from the museum. This was the "largest astronomy lesson" ever!
The planetarium often works with the Vermont Astronomical Society. They also team up with the Northern Skies Observatory in Peacham, Vermont. This observatory studies astronomy and takes amazing space pictures. Together, they host public outdoor astronomy events. These happen at the observatory and around the state.
In recent years, the Spitzer Planetarium also uses a smaller, blow-up dome. It's called a "portable planetarium". It uses the same projection software as the main planetarium. They take it to schools, libraries, and other places for presentations. Every spring, they have an astronomy camp. Kids learn about planets, stars, constellations, and space probe missions. They also get basic chemistry and physics lessons. A fun part is building and launching model rockets!
The museum has hosted many cool space events. In 2009, they had special shows for the International Year of Astronomy. They watched the 2012 Transit of Venus and the 2017 North American Solar Eclipse. In 2018, they set the world record for astronomy observation.
From July 16 to 24, 2019, the museum had exhibits celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11. On July 20, they had a big event. They replayed the mission in real-time! They also showed old documentaries from 1969. You could build and launch model rockets. There were spaceflight simulations too. Planetarium shows focused on the Moon and past and future human lunar exploration. The museum even got real lunar regolith (Moon dust) and rock samples from Apollo missions! NASA loaned these for a short time to help teach the public.
During the COVID-19 pandemic closure, the planetarium hosted live online events. They answered questions from local people and students. They talked about the 2020 Winter Solstice Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction. They showed telescope views of the planets and their moons. They also had live coverage of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing. Fairbanks science communicators hosted this, showing live data from NASA JPL. They also celebrated Yuri's Night 2021. This marked 60 years since Vostok 1 (the first human spaceflight). It was also 40 years since STS-1 (the first Space Shuttle flight). They talked about the Mars 2020 Ingenuity helicopter's first flight. They also discussed International Space Station moves and crew changes.
In July 2021, the museum hosted an event with Dr. Jennifer Gruber. She is an engineer working on NASA's Artemis Program to go back to the Moon. She gave updates about the program. This included news on SLS, HLS, and CLPS. She also answered questions from the audience.
For the upcoming 2024 North American Solar Eclipse, the museum expects a huge event. The total eclipse will pass right over Vermont! This will be an amazing chance to see it.
Awards and Recognition
The museum was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. This means it's a very important historic site.
On August 10, 2018, the museum set a world record! Over 1,500 people came to a live night sky astronomy lesson. There were also telescope demonstrations and other fun displays. This was the largest astronomy observation event ever. Guinness World Records confirmed it. Vermont Public Radio and local news also covered the event.
In 2019, the museum's weather station celebrated its 125th birthday! The World Meteorological Organization, National Weather Service, and NOAA recognized it. It is the second oldest regular weather station in North America. Only the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory is older. The Fairbanks station has been recording weather continuously since early 1894.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Caledonia County, Vermont
- List of science museums in the United States
- List of planetariums in the United States
- List of meteorology institutions
