The Marie Drake Planetarium

Where the stars always shine in Juneau, AK

Welcome to Juneau's planetarium

Juneau's planetarium is a unique community resource. It is part of the Juneau School District but has been run by volunteers for 20 years.

The Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium non profit was formed in 2011. We promote astronomy education and are the primary organization promoting, using, and upgrading the Marie Drake Planetarium.  We have a five member board.

We partner with the Juneau School District and other community organizations.

We offer diverse presentations and events to people of all ages and levels of astronomy knowledge. We provide free astronomy education for the public, school classes and community groups. 
 

Location

1415 Glacier Avenue in Marie Drake Building between Harborview and Juneau Douglas High School. Click here to learn more. This is the same building at the alternative high school and Montessori.

Click image below to make a tax deductible donation.

We are currently fundraising for training for our new planetarium system and other expenses. We may get training from Digitalis on our new digital projector and also plan to attend the Live Action Interactive Planetarium conference in July,

Recent Grants

To increase the capability and versatility of the planetarium, we developed a three part fundraising plan to buy a digital planetarium system. In December, we were awarded a $25,000 grant from Coeur Alaska - Kensington Mine. These funds completed 'phase 3' of our fundraising plan. We were able to purchase the final software and data sets for our Lambda system. This resulted in increased resolution and capabilities for our new planetarium system.

We appreciate their investment  in the areas of math and science education in Juneau, Alaska. 

There is always something interesting happening
at the planetarium
Here are ways to keep informed

  • On this website, go to upcoming events tab or calendar button.
  • Join our email list.  
  • Like us on Facebook
Facebook

  • We welcome your feedback, questions, ideas for grants and fundraising, suggestions for programming, and constructive suggestions for improvement.
  • If you would like a free presentation for your class or non profit, let us know date range, the number and age of attendees and topic (if any). 
  • Contact us if you would like to volunteer or help us with a cash or in-kind donation.

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Is the new Digital Projector in action?

Yes! We started using our new digital projector in mid February. 

The board is in the process of learning to use it, so please be patient as we master the many exciting features it offers and incorporate them into our presentations.