For more than 20 years, the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse was home to the only domed IMAX theatre in New York State. With its curved floor-to-ceiling screen, the theatre hosted dramatic scientific and entertainment films immersing viewers with cutting-edge audio and video.

A donation by National Grid will contribute to a new vision for the theatre and carry it into the future. Mayor Ben Walsh of the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon were on hand at a recent press conference unveiling the National Grid ExploraDome, a state-of-the-art theatre and planetarium that will open at the museum on April 9.

Pictured from left: Alberto Bianchetti, regional director for customer and community management for National Grid; Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon; Lauren Kochian, president of the MOST; and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.

“National Grid is proud to sponsor the ExploraDome because we believe the MOST and this project can help light a spark around the joy of discovery in every field,” said Alberto Bianchetti, regional director for customer and community management for National Grid.

The MOST, which opened in the former New York State Armory building in 1992, is a 35,000-square-foot science and technology museum and has benefited from a long-standing partnership with National Grid. Exhibits at the museum make complicated scientific concepts accessible to children of all ages by introducing ideas and theories to them through play.

“Learning about science doesn’t always mean sitting in a classroom or following a prescriptive activity,” Bianchetti said. “Sometimes learning is about digging for fossils and hiding in the caves of the Earth Science Discovery Cave, sticking your head in the oversized nose in the Life Sciences exhibit, or looking up at the stars in the National Grid ExploraDome. It sneaks up on kids when they least expect it…when they are having fun.”

When it opens on April 9, the National Grid ExploraDome will house just the Laser CineDome projection system in use internationally.

National Grid’s support of the ExploraDome aligns with its Project C initiative, a commitment to improve the communities where our company’s employees live and work. The investment in the most fulfills two pillars of this promise: neighborhood development and community investment, and workforce development.

“Not every kid visiting the MOST will grow up to be an engineer or technologist, but they do have fun,” Bianchetti said.

National Grid's Alberto Bianchetti speaks at the press conference announcing the National Grid ExploraDome.

The sponsorship is part of $2.6 million overhaul of the theatre. The museum’s legacy analog projection system could not accommodate the newer digital format. When the theatre closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, museum leadership decided it would not reopen without being upgraded. The ExploraDome will feature upgraded seating, audio and video, including a laser-illuminated, ultra-high-resolution Laser CineDome projection system, only the second such system in the world.

“By renovating the theatre and adding in a unique planetarium component, we will provide a location for visitors and students to experience things like space exploration and environmental science topics that will ultimately increase awareness and understanding of STEM in a way that only the MOST can provide,” said Lauren Kochian, president of the MOST.

About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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