New £6.8m planetarium opens to the public

A new space centre in Nottinghamshire opened to the public on Monday

A new £6.8m planetarium has opened its doors to the public in Nottinghamshire.

Sherwood Observatory off Coxmoor Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield features a 59-seat dome with an “immersive” 10m (32.8ft) diameter screen.

An underground exhibition space beneath the building is set into an old Victorian reservoir, alongside a science discovery centre, meeting rooms, classrooms and a cafe run by the Academy Transformation Trust Further Education College as a student outreach project.

Work on the project started in August 2023.

Dr Steve Wallace, project manager, said: “Our fantastic new Planetarium and Science Centre, sitting alongside our original observatory will be a huge draw to bring people to the area and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

A new exhibition space has been created below ground in the old reservoir, with a glass ceiling above it

The observatory first opened in 1986 after more than a decade of work, Dr Wallace said, as it had to be built in the spare time of the founding members around their day jobs.

The new look is a joint venture from Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society and Ashfield District Council.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, £2m has been invested into the project from Ashfield District Council's £62.6m Towns Fund pot, secured from the government in 2021.

A further £3.1m was provided through the government's Levelling Up Fund in January 2023.

Council leader Jason Zadrozny said he hoped the project will encourage young people to develop an interest in space.

He said: “It really is spectacular and it is something that will transform the lives of not just the people of Ashfield but also further afield.”