Flandrau debuts new exhibit as planetarium wins national acclaim

Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium has been ranked as one of the best in the country by USA Today, but the soon-to-be-50-year-old attraction on the University of Arizona Mall isn’t resting on its laurels.

Earlier this month, Flandrau unveiled “Universe of Science,” a new interactive exhibit designed with the help of U of A researchers that takes visitors on a journey through the worlds of astronomy, neuroscience, desert ecology and more.

Flandrau executive director Kellee Campbell called it “the largest and most dynamic exhibit” to open there in decades.

Planetarium officials declined to specify how much "Universe of Science" cost, but they did say that all of the funding came from donors and foundations, not the university.

USA Today used a panel of experts and votes from readers to pick the nation’s top planetariums.

Flandrau landed at number four on the newspaper’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2025, ahead of facilities in larger cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia and behind only the COSI Planetarium in Columbus, Ohio, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s INTUITIVE Planetarium in the NASA-dominated city of Huntsville, Alabama, and McDonnell Planetarium in St. Louis.

A visit to this Tucson institution is “sure to impress,” the national newspaper wrote, “thanks to numerous exhibits focusing on everything from bugs and sharks to the solar system.”

USA Today also highlighted the 146-seat, EOS Foundation Planetarium Theatre, declaring Flandrau “the cherry on top” of any visit to Tucson.

And that was before “Universe of Science” made its debut. The new exhibit officially opened to the public on Feb. 7.

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Reflections are a recurring theme, whether it’s the giant model of the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror or the Inner-Scientist Mirror, where guests can see themselves as digital avatars of researchers in various fields.

“Science is a human endeavor, and we’re all born curious,” said Flandrau’s exhibits director, Bill Plant. “We wanted to illustrate what being a scientist looks like: how you become one, what the career path entails and the impact scientists have.”

Added Campbell: “Our hope for this exhibit is to provide an experience where children can see themselves in science in new, unexpected, and inspiring ways.”

Roughly 15,000 local students in grades K-12 visit Flandrau each year on school field trips. The planetarium also doubles as a classroom for actual college courses such as Astronomy 170B1: Exploring Our Universe and plays host to the Science at Sunset lecture series by leading university researchers.

Flandrau’s marketing and communications manager, Nick Letson, said only about 9% of universities nationwide can boast their own planetariums. And almost no other university can claim as many connections to NASA missions and cutting-edge astronomical research.

“That’s why we like to say space is Wildcat country,” Letson said.

Flandrau officials are now planning how to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the planetarium’s opening on Dec. 13, 1975.

Letson said the festivities later this year will likely unfold over several months with a series of special events.