Following a year of renovations, the David M. Brown Planetarium (1426 N. Quincy Street) is preparing to unveil its upgrades during a grand re-opening celebration weekend.

Events will take place throughout the weekend of September 28-30, beginning with a ribbon cutting on Friday (September 28) at 10:00 a.m. A “Family Day” begins at 12:30 p.m. that Saturday, and festivities will end with the Sunday Science Program at 1:00 p.m. on September 30.

Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium, the non-profit group founded more than two years ago to launch the fundraising campaign that saved the facility, is co-hosting the events with Arlington Public Schools.

In 2010, in response to an outcry against a plan to shutter the planetarium and use it for classroom space, APS Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy proposed the challenge of a private group coming up with $402,800 for necessary renovations. That goal was achieved by the Friends just before the deadline last summer, thanks to a flood of last minute donations.

The facility upgrades include a new Spitz SciDome HD projector, a new interior dome and new seats.

Construction is still ongoing, but we’re told crews are “working like mad” to ready the facility for the grand re-opening.