The Delta College Planetarium was designed around metaphors of space and exploration. 

In 1993, Delta College secured a NASA grant totaling $8.75 million to fund the design and construction of a facility that would provide a learning environment to foster an appreciation of the significance, relevance, and application of the sciences. To create a better understanding of the wonders of our universe, this facility presents a multitude of high-quality educational programs for people of all ages. 

The design architect was William Kessler & Associates of Michigan and the contractor was Gregory Construction of Bay City. The building is certainly one of the most unique and significant buildings in downtown Bay City. Other downtown buildings are more historical in nature. The structure, rhythm, and colors are very deliberate as the overall design is to represent the future. The building design won two very significant awards from the American Institute of Architects. The Dedication Ceremony, facilitated by Delta College President Dr. Peter Boyse with honored guest, NASA Astronaut Richard Searfoss was held February 5, 1997.

Design & architectural elements 

• The sun is the center of our solar system, therefore the Planetarium theater is the center of the building. The Planetarium exterior colors are red and orange to represent the true colors of the sun’s gases.
• The exterior of the Planetarium theater represents a rocket exhaust nozzle.
• The black exterior of the two wings of the building represent the blackness of space.
• The lobby floor is slightly elliptical in shape to represent the orbits of planets around our sun in our solar system. Embedded in the floor are stars visible to the naked eye at the latitude and longitude of the Planetarium. 
• Hanging from the ceiling in the large two story multipurpose room, The Space Explorer’s Hall, are 34 international flags representing 34 countries that have sent a native of their country into space as an astronaut, cosmonaut or flight specialist.
• Windows are round because space objects are typically round...no rectangles, no squares, no triangles.
• The inside walls of the stair tower are painted shades of blue, gray and black ascending from the bottom floor up to the Observation Deck to represent day, twilight and night skies.
• Rooms on the first floor are named for objects in our solar system and rooms on the second floor are named for deep space objects.