The Barlow Planetarium in Menasha. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Winnebago and Outagamie County leaders are working to better understand what they’ll be taking on once the UW Oshkosh Fox Cities campus closes next spring.
What’s viewed as a gem for the Fox Cities area is in dire need of improvements.
In a tour of the Barlow Planetarium, the second-largest planetarium in the state, county leaders learned more about the equipment.
With some systems currently inoperable, the Barlow Planetarium estimates full equipment upgrades to be more than $1.1 million — excluding any infrastructure costs.
“It’s all 26 years old. We haven’t been able to do any upgrades gradually along the way like would be ideal. And so, because our system is analog and everything nowadays is digital, we need to replace it all,” said Teri Gee, director of the Barlow Planetarium.
The UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus will close at the end of the 2025 spring semester. The property is owned and operated by Winnebago and Outagamie counties.
“We’re going to do everything we can as counties to maintain this facility for the communities, because it’s very important that we have a college educational outlet in the Fox Cities,” said Tom Swan, chair of the UWO Fox Cities Board of Trustees.
A UWO Fox Cities Board of Trustees meeting was supposed to be held Monday, but was canceled.
The agenda included hearing from directors of resources, like the Barlow Planetarium and Weis Earth Science Museum — as the Board of Trustees is looking to do a property appraisal of the campus and its assets.
“The meeting was canceled because the Chancellor of the UW, and legal counsel of UW-Oshkosh, decided that they didn’t want the presenters to go forward today. Perhaps it was just that the legal counsel wanted to be present at the meeting and wasn’t able to make the meeting. We don’t really know at this point,” said Swan.
UW-Oshkosh released a statement that reads:
UW-Oshkosh and designated Outagamie and Winnebago County representatives are just beginning the work to plan for, negotiate and coordinate the discontinuation of teaching and learning at UWO Fox Cities on June 30, 2025. This includes discussions on future operations of the Barlow Planetarium, Weis Earth Science Museum, Communications Arts Center and Children’s Center. It is early in the process, and, alongside county staff partners helping manage the transition, we anticipate presenting the more detailed updates the county boards’ Trustees expect in the months to come.
The Weis and Barlow have historically worked together to benefit one another. Directors hope there’s a path forward for both attractions.
“Many times, schools will book a tour with the Barlow and then follow up with a Weis tour immediately after. So we’re in many ways codependent upon one another and very reliant,” said Scott Schaefer, director of the Weis Earth Science Museum.
Comments