Frank Kovac built a working planetarium in his backyard. When he was a young boy, Frank’s dad showed him the stars and he was hooked. Using his earning from a local paper mill, Frank built his own planetarium right in his remote northern Wisconsin backyard. With ingenuity, perseverance and $180,000 in savings, he built the huge spherical structure himself. From designing the entire rotating dome mechanism to painting all 5000 stars (with glow in the dark paint) Frank did it all over a period of 10 years. If you are ever in the area make sure to visit the Frank Kovac Sr. planetarium (named for his late father who inspired him). As of 2018, unfortunately the planetarium is closed. From an article I found online "Kovac said he never expected to make money on the planetarium, a labor of love in memory of his father, but he was hoping to be able to pay the bills without needing a fulltime outside job. That never happened though, and he continued to plow thousands of dollars of funds from savings, and finally resorted to a social media fundraising page when foreclosure loomed."
If you'd like to visit the planetarium, book a tour through his website:
https://frankkovacplanetarium.com/
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