The Johannesburg Planetarium, which has been transformed into the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, will enter pilot phase from this month, to the end of January 2025.
There are plans to open its doors to the broader public in February 2025.
In 2022, Wits University and mining firm Anglo American announced a multimillion-rand investment in funding the refurbishment, expansion and digitalisation of the 62-year-old Johannesburg Planetarium.
According to a statement, the new Wits Anglo American Digital Dome aims to provide Wits University students, researchers and citizens of Johannesburg with access to a 360-degree visual experience in the digital hub.
They will learn about astronomy and related fields through immersive technology in multi-dimensional, cross-disciplinary worlds.
For the past 62 years, the Wits University-based planetarium has entertained, inspired and educated hundreds of thousands of learners from Gauteng and beyond. Visitors were introduced to the night sky, solar system and Milky Way galaxy through shows at the theatre, notes Wits.
The first shows to be viewed in the Digital Dome include a set of six donated by the American Museum of National History.
Wits and Anglo American say they will make funds available to allow learners from selected schools to attend shows at no cost in 2025.
“The planetarium has entertained, inspired and educated millions of visitors from Gauteng and beyond,” says professor Zeblon Vilakazi, vice-chancellor and principal of Wits University.
“Personally, I visited the old planetarium in 1981 at the height of apartheid. It left a huge and indelible mark on me, and I believe it played a key role in igniting a scientific spark that led to me becoming a nuclear physicist.
“Through the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, we hope to continue inspiring people from various disciplines, including those working in climate modelling, artificial intelligence and the digital arts."
First completed in 1960, the old planetarium was the first full-sized planetarium in Africa. The new Digital Dome is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, made possible through an investment of R90 million from Anglo American and Wits University.
Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American, says: “At Anglo American, we see investment in tertiary education as vital for advancing knowledge, driving innovation and boosting economic growth.
“Universities are hubs of research and development, producing skilled professionals who tackle global challenges, and push technological and scientific boundaries. Infrastructure like the Digital Dome enable this progress, providing students with specialised skills, enhancing job prospects and earning potential, while contributing to broader societal and economic transformation.”
The planetarium has been refurbished and digitised with a new digital projection system, auditorium seating, a science and technology exploratorium, and a high-tech, 360-degree IMAX-like theatre, notes Wits.
“The new Wits Anglo American Digital Dome is a demonstration of our legacy and continued commitment, not only to this institution but to the nation as a whole. This new space is designed to inspire and ignite interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines for generations to come,” adds Wanblad.
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