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STUDENTS
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Planetarium
Planetarium attendance high
With success comes plans to add shows and include other schools.
The Shorthorn staff
The planetarium recently tore the ticket of its 27,000th customer,
bringing its total revenue to around $80,000.
The planetarium, which opened in March, is bringing in more customers
than initially expected. However, planetarium director Robert Bonadurer
said the new facility is still in its honeymoon phase.
“We have been doing well in the number of people we’re bringing
into the planetarium, and I think it’s mainly due to the great
staff, great facility and great shows we have,” he said. “The
students here have also been really good to the planetarium. About 16
percent of total attendance is UTA students, which is much more than
we initially thought.”
Bonadurer said he hopes to continue bringing in spectators by opening
a new show about every three months.
The idea of using the planetarium for more than just inspiring awe in
school children is another topic physics chair James Horwitz hopes to
bring to fruition. He said using the planetarium as a teaching tool
for many different fields is the future of the planetarium and the university.
“We would definitely like to get other disciplines aside from
astronomy involved,” he said. “Bringing in the theater and
film departments as well as other departments to not only develop new
shows but also develop topics outside of astronomy is going to be a
big push for us.”
The initial idea and plan for bringing the planetarium to the new Chemistry
and Physics Building belonged to physics professor John Fry. He said
a new planetarium was greatly needed, and he’s thrilled it’s
doing so well.
“We wanted this planetarium because the old one we had was too
old and way too small. When we designed the new one, we wanted it to
serve as a teaching tool for classes and a great public relations tool,”
he said. “When we first started in with the idea for the planetarium
in the new building, there was some opposition to using the precious
space for something other than research, but I think it’s proven
to be a great success.”
Fry said the planetarium’s potential uses are limitless and that
every department on campus can use the digital system.
Science dean Paul Paulus said he has nothing but hope for the future
of the facility and science at the university.
“We’ve had very positive results. We weren’t sure
what to expect in the beginning,” he said. “It’s often
hard in Arlington to compete for the entertainment dollar, and this
is educational entertainment, so we think it’s great. It’s
also been a great way to get people on campus to check out what UTA
has to offer.”
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Upcoming Shows
Opening in September: Stars of the Pharaohs
— an exploration of astronomy and history in ancient Egypt
Opening in October: Spooky Skies — a
fun scary show, all ages welcome
Opening in December: Star of Light —
a study into the story of the Star of Bethlehem
Opening in February: Valentine’s Day Show
— no kids allowed |
