MENASHA, WI — The Winnebago County Board voted to operate the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus through the end of this fiscal year, providing a path forward for community assets such as the Barlow Planetarium and the campus childcare center.
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Open for nearly 30 years, the Barlow Planetarium still uses its original projector and welcomes more than 25,000 guests a year. But as the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh closes its Fox Cities campus, the community has been left wondering about the future of these facilities.
"Now I think we'll have the opportunity to finally start that campaign, get that money raised, and get this back to its premiere status because it was a premiere planetarium in 1998 when it opened," said Teri Gee, director of the Barlow Planetarium.
Gee explained that they've been running the same shows since 2016, partly due to budget constraints and also because they needed permission from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Starting on June 30, the campus, including the Barlow Planetarium, will be operated by Winnebago County for a cost of about $800,000. The county intends to fund the planetarium for the next few years until it can pay for itself.
Meanwhile, just across from the planetarium is the childcare center, which nearly closed, potentially impacting almost 40 families and around 15 faculty members.
"It's hard to change for children going to different centers, especially for the families, it's stressful for them knowing that they don't know the place, and coming from a great place, they don't know what to expect," said Johnny Fisher, childcare center employee.
The Menasha School Board voted to operate the center on June 11 and plans to continue services as they are for the foreseeable future.
For the other parts of the campus, Winnebago County is hosting a public discussion on June 25 to gather community ideas for development.
The Barlow Planetarium could reopen as soon as the second week in July.
