Strickler Planetarium Undergoes Major Renovation
economic development, education, kankakee, olivet nazarene university, planetarium,
Olivet Nazarene University will host more stars than Hollywood when its Strickler Planetarium reopens in September 2008.
The campus planetarium has been closed since January 2008 to undergo the first major renovation to the building’s interior since it originally opened in 1967.
“The planetarium debuted in the late 1960s when America began a big push for space and science education, and 40-plus years later, it was time for a major upgrade to the entire facility,” says Steve Case, planetarium director and assistant professor of physical sciences at Olivet Nazarene University. “The biggest improvement is with our projector, which displays the stars onto the inside of the planetarium dome to provide a simulation of the night sky.”
Strickler Planetarium has been using a Spitz A-4RPY star projector all these years, along with a number of slide projectors to supplement the images that audiences see on the dome. However, the planetarium has now installed a digital star projector that can show full videos on the ceiling.
“The new projector is controlled by computers and is much more versatile,” Case says. “The university has purchased an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 3 projector, which is the top-of-the-line piece of equipment in this industry. Adler Planetarium in Chicago has the same kind of projector.”
Another upgrade to Strickler Planetarium is to the seats used by audience members.
“The old seats were arranged concentrically in rows of circles that were centered around the star projector – they were benches that basically looked like old curved school bus seats,” Case says. “We have replaced those with more comfortable theater-type chairs. They are in a curved setting with all of the seats facing one direction. It’s not quite a movie theater look, but more in that direction – with a capacity for 50 people.”
The planetarium has also installed new carpeting, and the Bourbonnais-based university also hired a company to clean and repaint the inside of the dome.
“As for audiences, the biggest crowds at Strickler Planetarium have historically been school-age children who visit on field trips,” Case says. “However, there are tentative plans for Olivet Nazarene University to begin utilizing the building a lot more in the future for its own college students.”
A couple of college astronomy classes have been scheduled in the planetarium each semester in the past, but Case says there is talk about eventually adding classes in graphic arts, computer programming and other multimedia courses.
“We have this incredible new digital projector that can really broaden our academic opportunities, so we could easily host classes on human anatomy, engineering and several other subjects,” he says. “Plus, it is entirely conceivable that graphic arts or computer programming students at Olivet Nazarene could ultimately help design new and exciting videos for the planetarium itself.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Todd Bennett
