On the north edge of campus lies a portal to the universe. For a quarter century, this portal has transported science students, schoolchildren and the public to the planets, the stars and distant galaxies. The Downing Planetarium, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, has inspired a generation with a love of science and continues its ongoing mission to excite wonder and curiosity.

The Downing Planetarium is also a portal to the community, attracting up to 20,000 visitors a year. The planetarium and its adjoining science museum, gift shop and small observatory combine showmanship with serious science education. As one of only four planetariums in the Central Valley, the Downing Planetarium draws visitors from as far away as San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield.

“The planetarium is a remarkable resource for the university, but also for the city of Fresno, for all the people that live here and see our shows,” said Dr. Steven White, professor of physics and founding director of the planetarium. “Most of what we do are field trips for schools, and students come here from all over the Valley. It’s been remarkably rewarding. I’ve talked to thousands and thousands of kids. Everybody is interested in the sky and space, and they want to know what’s out there.”

In addition to shows for young students, the planetarium is used by Fresno State astronomy courses. With its 4K star projector set in a 73-seat auditorium with a 30-foot dome, the planetarium gives students clear, unobstructed views of stars and constellations that can’t be seen in light-polluted cities. The planetarium also draws the public with shows that combine astronomy with pop culture, such as its recent sell-out presentation set to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

This fall the planetarium experienced an unexpected surge in popularity when a TikTok video about the planetarium went viral in August, attracting over 34,000 likes and drawing a stream of new and returning visitors.

Bringing the universe to Fresno State

Growing up in Reno, Nevada, White loved the planetarium at the local university so much he would sneak out of his house to walk three miles uphill to see shows. But when he started as a physics instructor at Fresno State in fall 1994, he had no ambition to build a planetarium. Then he received a fateful phone call from a teacher at Holland Elementary School, who asked him to borrow a portable planetarium from the Discovery Center and present a show to her class.

White began touring other schools with the portable planetarium, and later that semester he got a hot tip — Kansas State University was selling its planetarium equipment for just $15,000. The Department of Physics put together funds to buy the equipment, in hopes of building a small planetarium in McLane Hall. But as it happened, University Advancement was already discussing support for science education with the Downing family.

The crucial support to build a full-scale planetarium came from the late Dr. F. Harold Downing, a retired orthopedic surgeon; his son, Dr. Tom Downing, a dentist; and Tom’s wife, businesswoman Cynthia Downing. Tom and Cynthia are both Fresno State alumni, and the family were interested in supporting science education.

“When we were first talking to Fresno State, my father talked about setting up a scholarship,” Tom Downing said. “So they created a little scholarship, and when my father saw it, he said, ‘I was thinking of something more significant.’ The next thing we heard, they had a planetarium building planned, and we added some scholarships to create a real significant project that my father was totally behind.”

With the support of the Downings, the planetarium project expanded its scope and ambition and found institutional champions in Dr. Brandt Kehoe, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and then-university President Dr. John D. Welty.

A flurry of construction followed. A camera was set up on a rooftop adjoining the construction site, and a video feed was set up so that Harold Downing could follow the construction from his computer. The Downing Planetarium opened in April 2000, less than six years after White unexpectedly found himself in the planetarium business.

Success and expansion

The planetarium was an immediate hit. The pace was frenetic — the demand for shows was so high that the planetarium stayed open every day of the week. White’s time was consumed with setting up presentations, and he gives his wife Kathleen full credit for setting up the ticketing and support operations that kept the planetarium running smoothly.

The following years brought successive improvements to the planetarium and its technology. A battery of 40 slide projectors was replaced with a computer-controlled, high-definition projection system. The Downings provided ongoing support that allowed for the building of the Downing Planetarium Museum in 2005.

“We wanted to make sure that the planetarium was going to continue operating no matter what, so we created an endowment,” Cynthia Downing said. “That endowment has been well invested by the Fresno State Foundation. They’ve done an excellent job of managing it, growing it, and the planetarium has been able to maintain state-of-the-art programs and equipment. I’m really proud of that.”

The Downings continue to support science education at Fresno State. For Day of Giving 2025, Tom and Cynthia Downing created the Stephen and Kathleen White Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“Everyone involved in the College of Science and Mathematics who is promoting science education is doing something so important over the long haul,” Cynthia Downing said. “The investment in youth and education is going to pay society back.”

After 30 years of building and operating the planetarium, White is in the process of retiring. He is currently serving part-time under the Faculty Early Retirement Program. The Department of Physics is searching for a new planetarium director, and day-to-day operations are continuing under associate planetarium director Dan Brown.

“I’ve been at this for 30 years,” White said. “I love teaching about the night sky and working with kids. I’ve had students who came to the planetarium when they were little, and they remember that. I’ve had students who now introduce their children to me. There are several boys named Orion because of my class. We’re operating, we’re busier than ever, we have new shows and we’re having a huge response. I’m very, very proud of it.”