|
Fred G. Dale Planetarium Reopens for Visitors
Wayne State College held a grand reopening event Oct. 8-10 for the Fred G. Dale Planetarium to celebrate the end of a major renovation project. The planetarium, which is the only one of its kind in the region, had been closed since December 2009.
A staircase was removed with construction in Carhart, and the area was not properly insulated on the first floor. The bitterly cold temperatures last winter caused a water main break, flooding part of the building. The most severe damage was in the basement and the planetarium, which is one level lower.
The planetarium is showing "Astronaut" from Oct. 17 to Nov. 21. All shows are at 3:30 p.m. Sundays.
"Astronaut," the latest immersive planetarium show, takes the audience from Earth into space ... and beyond. Viewers will experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut and explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body.
The show demonstrates the perils that lurk in space as the subject, "Chad," serves as a test astronaut to everything that space has to throw at him.
The new face of the Wayne State College planetarium includes:
- a multi-story mural by painted by WSC student Rich (Bo) Bohacek that starts in the stairwell leading down to the planetarium and includes space station themed murals outside of the planetarium. The mural was generously funded by Don ’71 and Diane ’71 Soukup;
-a high-definition projection system putting 3 million pixels on the 30-foot dome;
-Astronomy software with a database of 500 million stars that can move backward and forward through time +/- 100,000 years. The system allows an audience to look at space from any location in the solar system; allows the audience viewers to fly through space; and has an extensive educational library of astronomical images and movies for K-college class use. The planetarium can be used as a learning environment with a surround-sound system.
The planetarium has 10 full-dome shows for adults and children. Please find information on future shows at: http://www.wsc.edu/planetarium/
For information: Dr. Todd Young at (402) 375-7417
|
