World's Largest Planetarium Dome?
A recent discussion in the Planetarium field focused on the world's largest planetarium. This was brought into light, as the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut was advertising their new Casino of the Sky, having the world's largest planetarium dome. This advertising blitz has gone to television, New York Subway cars, and magazines. So living in the area, Jan and I decided to take a trip to Wombi Rock to see what this was all about. We spoke to Audrey Babbitt from Public Relations, and she told us we can photograph the dome, and also gave us a publicity photo.
Now if you are a member of the planetarium field, you may not consider this a planetarium dome. Technically speaking, it is, as it was built by Spitz, but there is no projector in the center of the room. There are dozens of projectors hidden from view that project moving clouds, the Moon in various phases, rainbows, and Sunrises and Sunsets. The stars are also there under the nighttime sky, and we did recognize the Big Dipper, but the rest of the stars did not appear to be in any constellations that we know of. Weather or not this constitutes a planetarium as we see it, quite frankly is irrelevant, as the whole thing is spectacular.
I contacted Joyce Towne at Spitz, and she was kind enough to give me the following information. The Mohegan Sun dome has approximately 1100 powder-coated aluminum panels, with its construction taking almost 5 months to complete, from October 30, 2000 to March 26, 2001. For the construction, a 40-foot high scaffolding deck was used with two rolling towers on it. The dome has approximately 2088 stars in it, projected by fiber optics. The dome itself is part of a 187 foot diameter sphere, but since the shape is less than hemispheric, if measured at the true hemispheric line the diameter is slightly less than that.
There are four smaller domes on the outside of the main dome, each part of a 107 foot diameter sphere, but again, their actual size is smaller, I estimate about 30- 40 feet across. They are painted peach, lilac, and blue, two having the same color. These smaller domes also have fiber optic stars, and we recognized Orion on one, and the Southern Cross on another. These were constructed from January 2001 to April 2001, with the stars being added in May.
These five domes are listed as the Casino of the Sky, a casino with astronomical themes, with the carpets, walls, and ceilings all having some kind of astronomical decoration. Under these domes, are 6200 slot machines, which make some kind of "spacey-music" every time you drop money into them. It is similar to the alien planet noises heard on the old Star Trek television series. Now here is the best part.
Under the Big Dome is the Wombi Rock, an 85-foot high "mountain" constructed of 12,000 plates of translucent Onyx and Alabaster. The mountain has a lounge and a 3 level dance floor, and at the top of the Wombi is a Martini Bar, which has some of the most elaborate Martinis I have ever seen. Jan had a Chocolate Martini, and I had a micro-Brew beer. When you are up at the Bar, you are just below the "horizon" of the dome, and since it is so huge, it really feels like you are in the sky.
To sum it all up, again, it may not be a planetarium as WE know it, but it is well worth the trip. I urge MAPS members to stop off there after the MAPS conference in May. Jan and I intend to, as it is our 20th wedding anniversary, and we will be spending the night at the new hotel there. The combination of the Dome, Wombi Rock, Martinis, and slot machines, is real hard to beat, and it is an experience that you will not forget. For more on this great facility, go to their web site at www.mohegansun.com
Below photos by Steven LJ Russo, unless otherwise noted.
Photo
at left, courtesy of Mohegan Sun.