Hutchinson ? The co-founder of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center has announced he is resigning after 27 years as the museum’s president and chief executive officer.

Max Ary, 52, said he plans to remain in the museum field and will take a few months off while he considers his next step. His last day at the Cosmosphere is Aug. 9.

“I have several exciting opportunities available to me, and will be making some decisions in the near future regarding my long-term plans,” he said in a prepared statement Friday.

The Cosmosphere’s senior vice president, Jeff Ollenburger, has been named interim director.

Under Ary’s leadership, the Hutchinson Planetarium grew from a two-person operation to a space museum that attracts about 285,000 visitors each year and employs about 70 people.

“When he told me, it knocked me over,” said Patty Carey, the Hutchinson native who founded the planetarium that would become the Cosmosphere.

The museum features the multi-story IMAX Dome Theater, the Hall of Space Museum and such educational programs as the Future Astronaut Training Program. The museum also is home to one of the most significant collections of American and Russian space artifacts in the world.

A history of achievements

Ary is credited with starting the Cosmosphere’s space artifact restoration program. One of its more well-recognized projects was the restoration of the Apollo 13 spacecraft Odyssey. Ary led the effort to find and recover Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft from the Atlantic Ocean.

Ary also has served as a technical consultant for several film projects, including the Academy Award-winning movie Apollo 13.

Ary said he preferred to create exhibits and acquire historic space artifacts from around the world. But in recent years, he has spent 70 to 80 percent of his time trying to raise funds.

“Spending that much time on fund raising to keep it operating was very taxing to me,” he said. “One of the places I’ve looked at has tremendous potential it has lots of money and a big endowment, but no leadership. I’m 52 now. I’m not sure I want to spend the rest of my career raising money.”

Contributing factors

Ary acknowledged that a decision not to move the Gowans football stadium to another site in Hutchinson was a factor in his decision to resign.

The stadium is east of the Cosmosphere and blocks it from future expansions. A Gowans Advisory Committee recently decided to seek voter approval to renovate the stadium rather than move it.

“We occupy a quarter of the acreage we need,” Ary said. “We really can’t grow here.”