Evanston Township High School renovated its nearly 50-year-old planetarium over the past few months with the help of private donors.

The ETHS Educational Foundation raised more than $700,000 to help refurbish the planetarium, which was first constructed in the late 1960s. The planetarium updates include repairs to the building’s indoor and outdoor structure, a 360-degree screen with a digital projector as well as new sound and lighting systems.

The high school will unveil the renovated planetarium Oct. 15 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We take a lot of pride in the fact that we’re one of the very few high schools in the country with a planetarium,” said Maureen Sippel, the educational foundation’s president. “There is so much technology that is new and exciting that can be brought into a planetarium. It made so much sense to us to update it and really bring it into the 21st century.”

The Educational Foundation is comprised a volunteer board of directors — including alumni, parents and community members — who work to raise money to improve student experience in areas outside the ETHS’ budget.

A large portion of the donations, $500,000, came from ETHS alumnus Leonard Schaeffer, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. Schaeffer, along with Michelle Larson, president of Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, and Faith Vilas, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, will attend the ribbon cutting.

“This project really resonated with many members of the board,” Sippel said. “The planetarium is a state-of-the-art place for education.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @marissahpage