Institution
Central Elementary School
Project Name
Christa McAuliffe Space Center
Location
Pleasant Grove, Utah
Impact
In 2018, the Edward St. John Foundation announced a $1 million commitment toward the construction of a state of the art Space Center and Planetarium on the campus of Central Elementary School in Pleasant Grove, UT.
The new Space Center broke ground in March 2019 and opened to the public in November 2020. The Center is home to Utah’s 2nd largest planetarium, featuring a 40-foot planetarium dome, astronaut seating, surround sound, advanced theater lighting, upgraded workstations and network backbone, theater projection systems, and six state-of-the-art starship simulators. The facility also includes flex space for future programs.
The commitment was part of a four-year pledge in which the Foundation matched dollar-for-dollar funds raised by the Alpine School District. The overall fundraising goal for the project is $4 million to replace and expand its popular Space Center in Pleasant Grove.
