By Mick Dillon / The Jambar
Ward Beecher Planetarium capped off its 50th year of Halloween shows this past weekend.
As opposed to the homemade lasers and real corn stalks of the original 1974 shows, the newly revamped Halloween planetarium festivities included 4K full-dome video and digital surround sound.
Planetarium engineer Curt Spivey has been working at the event since 2009. His current role at the planetarium includes hosting public shows, keeping equipment running and making sure the professors teaching in the Planetarium have what they need for classes.
“The easy version is, I run my mouth and play with cool toys,” Spivey said.
Oct. 4 saw the first show at the planetarium since the roof caught on fire in January 2023. The planetarium has seen over 2,000 guests in the three weeks since reopening, and overflow shows of “Nightlights” were held on Saturday afternoons due to the high demand.
“We literally did double the number of shows that were on the schedule,” Spivey said.
The “Nightlights” Halloween show launched Oct. 11, and ran from 8-9 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through the end of October. The planetarium also featured “Night-LITE,” a kids version of the Halloween show from 2-3 p.m. on Saturdays.
The all ages “Nightlights” show featured jump scares, loud music and a different variety of songs from the “Night-LITE” matinees.
“We had a great response on both of them. [As a] matter of fact, we had some people that came to both, just so they could hear the different songs,” Spivey said.
Spivey looks forward to the new wave of returning viewers the musical Halloween shows has brought to the planetarium.
“They’re really designed to get people in the door, to experience the planetarium and to get them to come back for our other shows on our schedule later in the year,” Spivey said.
As for the future of the planetarium, it’ll feature shows that change every month. November will feature “Undiscovered Worlds,” which is about exoplanets and will feature a live look at the nighttime sky.
Show viewers can also keep an eye out for a “Let It Snow” show, which will be similar to the Halloween experience, featuring a variety of Christmas music.
“Shows are free and open to the public,” Spivey said. “It’s a cheap date. Come on out and see the sky.”
The list of upcoming shows is available on the Ward Beecher Planetarium website.
