The historical relevance of Mitchell High School’s planetarium wasn’t lost on those in attendance during a Monday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony.

When it first opened in 1967, the U.S. was in the midst of the space race against the former Soviet Union and man had yet to set foot on the moon. Now, in 2026, the race is on to get humans to Mars and the public school-based planetarium is geared to inspire future generations of discovery.

Mitchell and Colorado Springs School District 11 leaders and alumni gathered in the revamped space to preview its upgrades and expanded education opportunities.

Students can travel across space and time in seconds and view up-to-date weather datasets, constellations sans light pollution and immersive shows, all with an Xbox controller.

“Oh my God, it was 21^st century,” said 1968 Mitchell graduate Dian Curtis Regan following a demonstration. “But I remembered how I felt when I learned I was going to a high school that had a planetarium. That was a big deal.”

With none of discernible or distinct features that other planetariums may possess — like a domed rooftop, exterior signage or a ticket booth — and years of dormancy, it had become known to those working in and outside of the school as a local secret.

“It’s not a secret anymore,” said board director Parth Melpakam.

Since its opening, the Scott Carpenter Planetarium is noted for being the only public school planetarium in the Colorado Springs area.

Few repairs were done on the original equipment over the years and it eventually shut down due to needed maintenance.

The planetarium was briefly revived in 2019 when the Mitchell class of 1968 led a fundraising campaign to restore its original system, but the reopening was short-lived due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning. Continued maintenance, antiquated analog equipment and modern digital programs led to a full-scale replacement and renovation.

“The chairs were in a circle and there was this enormous piece of equipment in the middle that would show the light,” Regan said of her planetarium classes. “It was similar, but not as fancy (as this).”

Funding to renovate the planetarium was approved by the D-11 board of education in 2023 to introduce new interactive learning opportunities to Mitchell students and other classes throughout the district. According Mitchell High School’s project manager, Valerie Jordan, more than $467,000 was spent to complete the renovations.

Prior to the ribbon-cutting, the new system had been up and running for about six months, when staff training occurred. The new shows were purchased in December and current students helped develop activities for lower grade levels.

Recently, Mitchell students used the planetarium in a trigonometry class to better understand sine and cosine waves by studying the movement of the planets around the sun.

D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal said that the modern-day system can present experiential learning opportunities for this type of common astronomy coursework.  

“There’s nothing better than a kid seeing that Jupiter doesn’t rise and then go back to see ‘Oh, I got the sines wrong or I didn’t convert my units correctly,’” he said.

Other cross-curricular opportunities mentioned include studying the Greek constellations and Chinese asterisms in a mythology class, or using the stars to navigate as runners on the underground railroad in a U.S. history class.

Astronomy, environmental science and zoology classes have also had sessions in the planetarium.

With the potential to host classes and presentations year-round, the school plans to host prekindergarten through college-level students across D-11 and neighboring districts for various lessons and presentations. Plans are also in the works to host public shows outside school hours to fund the planetarium’s costs going forward.

“We want to use this space as much as possible and as limitlessly as possible,” said Mitchell science teacher Hannah Anderson.