Backyard planetarium is the epitome of DIY determination and success
With spring quickly approaching, DIYers across the country are revving up their power tools and planning their warm-weather projects. With so many possible home-improvement projects on the brain, it's hard to decide where to start. You could build an addition on your house. You could build a decorative flower garden, complete with gazebo. You could build a working planetarium in your backyard. If you are anything like Frank Kovac, the answer is obvious.
According to David Grossman for Popular Mechanics: "Frank designed and built everything, from constructing the entire rotating dome mechanism, to painting all 5,000 stars with glow-in-the-dark paint. The entire project took him about a decade, and now he hosts regular talks at the Kovac Planetarium, with about 4,000 customers per year. The 4,000-pound backyard planetarium stands as the largest, mechanically-driven, revolving dome planetarium in the world, according to Kovac. The entire project cost him about $180,000."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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