What is now one of the world's premier space museums began as the dream of a Hutchinson civic leader who looked to the stars. Patricia Carey, fueled by her life-long interest in science and motivated by the national urgency created by Russia's launch of Sputnik, created one of the first public planetariums in the central United States.

In 1962, with a staff of high school volunteers and a used star projector, the Hutchinson Planetarium was born. Located inside the Poultry Building on the Kansas State Fairgrounds, the planetarium enjoyed modest success as attendance and interest in the subject grew each year.

In 1966, the Hutchinson Planetarium vacated the Fairgrounds and relocated to the newly constructed Science and Arts Building on the campus of Hutchinson Community College. The new home of the Hutchinson Planetarium, located in what today houses Dr. Goddard's Lab on the north end of the building, began to develop even further. The 75-seat planetarium soon added small exhibits inside the lobby, including a collection of rocks and minerals and "George," the notable planetarium rattlesnake.

In 1976, encouraged by the planetarium's growing popularity, Carey and the board of directors began planning to significantly expand the facility. They sought the advice of Max Ary, then director of Ft. Worth's Noble Planetarium and a recognized expert on American space artifacts, space science education and space exploration history. Ary, who had worked at the Hutchinson Planetarium while attending college, was serving on a Smithsonian committee to find homes for the literally tens of thousands of space artifacts released after the Apollo program. In perhaps the greatest example of timing being everything, the planetarium board asked Ary if he "had any great ideas for a museum?"

Launched as the Kansas Cosmosphere and Discovery Center in 1980, the new facility featured permanent exhibit galleries in the Hall of Space Museum, only the sixth OMNIMAX® Theater ever built, and, of course, the planetarium that started it all.

It sounds simple, but it's true. From day one, Patty Carey, Max Ary and countless community leaders asked "Why couldn't this be in Hutchinson?" There was a need...the central part of the United Sates was void of such a space science center. There was the interest...the early success of the Hutchinson Planetarium proved that. And there was a dream...set in motion by Patty. It all goes to show, with vision, timing and a chicken coop, anything is possible. You can even build a space museum in Kansas.