Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
4.7(246)google
4.7(21)yelp
EducationalSciencePlanetariumFamilyKids
Overview
The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a combination natural science museum, history museum, and planetarium located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It was founded in 1890 by businessman, politician, naturalist, and collector Franklin Fairbanks.
Practical Info
Every day10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Suggested Duration2-3 hours
Best TimeAn outstanding 1889 Romanesque Revival architectural masterpiece and planetarium at 1302 Main St, excellent as a year-round indoor sanctuary. Bright, sunny weekday mornings between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM are peerless; this is when peak daylight streams directly through the monumental barrel-vaulted oak ceilings, brilliantly illuminating their massive collection of Victorian taxidermy rows.
Getting ThereCommanding the central historic main street corridor of downtown St. Johnsbury at 1302 Main St. Driving is remarkably simple: ride Interstate 91 N to exit 20, and travel straight east along the highway alignment for 5 minutes. The prominent sandstone facility features its own spacious free customer parking lot positioned directly attached to the rear wing along with open street spots.
Travel Tips
- General museum admission and Planetarium show tickets are sold separately. Because the planetarium dome seating is strictly limited to around 50 guests per show, pre-booking both tickets online together is highly recommended to secure a seat.
- The historic building lacks a modern comprehensive central HVAC system. During peak summer afternoons in July and August, the Victorian wood-paneled galleries can become warm; visit right at 9:00 AM opening for a cooler environment.
- The museum lacks a dedicated private parking lot. Drivers must utilize the free municipal parallel parking spaces along Main Street directly in front, or use the shared parking spaces surrounding the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum across the street.
Reviews
Positive
- The grand Victorian building itself is a work of art, and the densely packed specimen walls inside are absolutely breathtaking and true to its stellar reputation.
- The digital planetarium dome shows are highly engaging; the professional and passionate presenters deliver a deeply immersive and educational starry sky experience.
- The indoor management and crowd flow are highly orderly, with thoughtful accessible design, maintaining excellent ramp and wheelchair access for all visitor groups.
- The admission price is fair and affordable, packing in a wealth of natural history exhibits alongside science shows for excellent overall value.
Heads up
- The overall gallery space is quite cramped compared to major metropolitan museums; some specimen displays are overcrowded, feeling a bit claustrophobic at peak times.
- The museum lacks its own large dedicated parking lot; self-drive visitors must rely on limited metered street parking, which is inconvenient during busy hours.
- The indoor multilingual (e.g., Chinese) audio tour system is incomplete, and the English descriptions use small fonts, making it less user-friendly for non-native speakers or seniors.
- The venue provides no hot food or large dining rest zones; secondary spending is limited to a few vending machines, requiring a trip into town for a proper lunch.