Longway Planetarium will close for renovations after a final show Dec. 30.

This is planned to be the largest renovation since the planetarium first opened in 1958.

The planetarium expects to reopen in late May or early June of 2015, with new, more comfortable seats, and a sloped floor for wheelchair accessibility.

The sound and light systems will also be replaced, and the planetarium will be tilted forward to give visitors a better view of the inside of the dome.

Mr. Buddy Stark, manager of Longway Planetarium, believes that the renovations will be a positive change to the planetarium.

Stark said, “The new seats being installed are much nicer than our current seats, and will allow more leg room and comfort than we currently have.”

Many things will be improved during the renovations, but Stark said that the “big one” is the addition of a full-dome theater.

This means that high-resolution videos will be viewable across the entire dome.  This modernized improvement will benefit the audiences’ overall experience, and could open the door to hosting new events in the planetarium.

The renovations will total $1.8 million. With a generous donation of $1.5 million from the Mott Foundation, the planetarium still needs to raise another $300,000 for the project.

One of the ways money is being raised is through the placement of brass plaques on the new chairs. Each chair is available for sponsorship, and sponsors will get to choose their own engraving for the plaque. Potential sponsors can visit Sloan Longway’s website for more information.

While the planetarium is being renovated, people can still come to the Sloan Museum and are encouraged to do so.

Stark does not anticipate that the closing of the planetarium will affect business.

“There will still be all the wonderful exhibits and activities going on at Sloan that the public has come to know and love,” Stark said.