2008 Woodie Awards
Planetarium's "The Spring Sky" Sold Out
Diana Quezada
Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The planetarium was packed Friday night after Valley College's Astronomy Group sold out their "The Spring Sky" show to eager attendees.
Having to squeeze extra chairs in the planetarium, eight people were turned away after 62 tickets were sold. The show combined live narrative by Professor David Falk, the planetarium director, as well as prerecorded narrative by Falk and members of the astronomy group.
The interactive show had the crowd engaged as they shouted out answers to trivia questions and enjoyed spectacular images of the sky, an original music score, and a projector that gave the illusion of being under the night sky. Professor Falk made the show both comedic and fun, but very informative.
"The presentation was really great," said Michael Hernandez who was invited by his brother Gustavo, a Valley student. "[The show was] very intellectual…it explained a lot."
Interesting topics were discussed during the presentation including such facts as the star cluster "Pleiades," also known as the Seven Sisters, with only six stars visible to the naked eye. Falk went on to inform the group that the car company Subaru has these clusters of six stars represented as their emblem.
Among the crowd were people of all ages including Valley students, adults, and children with more than half there for extra credit. With each ticket sale a raffle ticket was given out and at the end of the show one person was awarded a poster comparing mars to earth, courtesy of Jet Propulsion Laboratories. The observatory's telescope was open immediately following the show and was staffed by Bob, one of the members of the astronomy group.
The Astronomy Group is a volunteer organization composed of students, former students, and community members and range from ages 12 to 82. The group staffs all of the astronomy events.
"This is kind of unique," said Professor Falk, "where you have students and community members who are not professional astronomers who are actually taking on the responsibility of doing these events and really sharing astronomy with the public."
The group holds three events per month including a planetarium show date, a star party, and a meeting/lecture. The shows are held every month except for January and August and relate to what's going on in the sky at that time. The star parties are observing sessions held every month on a Saturday at an off-campus site.
A meeting/lecture is also held every month in the planetarium on a Sunday evening and includes guest speakers. Visit http://lavcag.ars-chemia.net/index.htm for scheduling and more information. The next show "Ringworld" will be held May 18 at 8 p.m. in the planetarium and will discuss an overview of the robotic spacecraft Cassini and its orbit of Saturn.
Having to squeeze extra chairs in the planetarium, eight people were turned away after 62 tickets were sold. The show combined live narrative by Professor David Falk, the planetarium director, as well as prerecorded narrative by Falk and members of the astronomy group.
The interactive show had the crowd engaged as they shouted out answers to trivia questions and enjoyed spectacular images of the sky, an original music score, and a projector that gave the illusion of being under the night sky. Professor Falk made the show both comedic and fun, but very informative.
"The presentation was really great," said Michael Hernandez who was invited by his brother Gustavo, a Valley student. "[The show was] very intellectual…it explained a lot."
Interesting topics were discussed during the presentation including such facts as the star cluster "Pleiades," also known as the Seven Sisters, with only six stars visible to the naked eye. Falk went on to inform the group that the car company Subaru has these clusters of six stars represented as their emblem.
Among the crowd were people of all ages including Valley students, adults, and children with more than half there for extra credit. With each ticket sale a raffle ticket was given out and at the end of the show one person was awarded a poster comparing mars to earth, courtesy of Jet Propulsion Laboratories. The observatory's telescope was open immediately following the show and was staffed by Bob, one of the members of the astronomy group.
The Astronomy Group is a volunteer organization composed of students, former students, and community members and range from ages 12 to 82. The group staffs all of the astronomy events.
"This is kind of unique," said Professor Falk, "where you have students and community members who are not professional astronomers who are actually taking on the responsibility of doing these events and really sharing astronomy with the public."
The group holds three events per month including a planetarium show date, a star party, and a meeting/lecture. The shows are held every month except for January and August and relate to what's going on in the sky at that time. The star parties are observing sessions held every month on a Saturday at an off-campus site.
A meeting/lecture is also held every month in the planetarium on a Sunday evening and includes guest speakers. Visit http://lavcag.ars-chemia.net/index.htm for scheduling and more information. The next show "Ringworld" will be held May 18 at 8 p.m. in the planetarium and will discuss an overview of the robotic spacecraft Cassini and its orbit of Saturn.
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