Imagine feeling like you’re vaulting through the cosmos, exploring the Grand Canyon or riding a massive wave off of Tahiti without ever leaving Phoenix.

That’s what the Arizona Science Center is promising with the unveiling of its new Dorrance DOME, a 360-degree immersive experience powered by roughly 9,026 LED light panels. The planetarium closed Feb. 4, 2024, for construction and will reopen on Oct. 18. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday.

“It’s not just a planetarium,” says Sari Custer, the chief of science and curiosity at Arizona Science Center. “It’s more than a planetarium. ... We can do anything in this space if we have the creativity and the talent to make it happen.”

Although the idea of a dome conjures the Sphere in Las Vegas, the Dorrance DOME is very different. Mainly, it was

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