By AnnaBelle Boone / The Jambar
The Ward Beecher Planetarium hosts a variety of events every semester. Two of which include “Rock the Dome” on Jan. 17-18, a musical event that featured laser-light shows set to the music, and “We Are Stars” on Fridays and Saturdays in February.
The current show, “We Are Stars,” is a journey through the galaxy’s creation, narrated by Andy Serkis.
Since 1967, the planetarium has hosted hundreds of shows and became a staple of Youngstown State University’s campus.
The planetarium’s staff is focused on keeping the shows at the forefront of technology. Patrick Durrell, the director of the planetarium and a professor of astronomy, said Ward Beecher is one of the largest university planetariums with 140 seats.
“It’s such a nice facility,” Durrell said. “I’ve been very active in upgrading things, trying to have the latest technology, the newest shows.”
Curt Spivey, the planetarium engineer, takes charge of planning the events.
Spivey is also on-hand during all planetarium shows, guiding audiences through a projection of the night sky. He welcomes every guest into the dome.
“We look for shows that are scientifically accurate but also entertaining, because scientifically accurate doesn’t work well if it’s dry as toast,” Spivey said. “We try to get different topics too, so you don’t see the same thing over and over again when you come back.”
The planetarium is used for more than weekly shows. It’s used to teach an introductory course in astronomy.
“That’s our classroom. We have a beautiful projector at the back where we project the slides up on the dome and always have to watch for students who occasionally fall asleep because of the chairs,” Durrell said.
In addition to “We Are Stars,” the planetarium will host “Explore our Universe” at 8 p.m. Feb. 28.