Cormack Planetarium
February 2003 :
Today I will highlight the only public planetarium in our state, the Cormack Planetarium.
This wonderful little planetarium can be found in the Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History in Providence. In 1995 a major renovation project was completed, including not only new, more comfortable seating for 79 visitors, but also a new 27.8 foot diameter dome upon which to project the starry heavens.
But the pisce de resistance was the installation of a new Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3 planetarium projector. This computer controlled masterpiece projects 7,000 stars, as well as the Sun, Moon, and five naked eye planets. The Zeiss projector can accurately reproduce the motion of the heavens from any location on the Earth as well as take us back and forth in time. It can also show the constellations seen from the southern hemisphere. Utilizing this great tool to create and illustrate the majesty of the heavens is Planetarium Director Fred Surowiec.
This sophisticated machine replaced an aging Spitz A1A projector that had been in use since the planetarium opened in 1953. During the mid-seventies I used to give programs using the Spitz projector. It worked as well as could be expected even then. Occasionally a bulb would burn out, usually right in the middle of a show. I'm amazed it performed as well as it did until being retired in 1995.
Since then it's been sitting in storage. I hope the museum dusts it off and prominently displays it during the planetarium's 50th anniversary celebration this year. The Spitz A1A was a workhorse that deserves to be honored for its years supporting astronomy and space education programs.
The Cormack Planetarium is open to the public every weekend and during school vacation weeks with shows at 2:00 pm The program not only talks in general about the heavens, but also highlights what can be seen specifically at that time of year. See the show in the dome during the day, then go out at night and put your new-found knowledge to use.
If you want to make special arrangements for a group of people, please call the Museum education department at 401-785-9457 for more information.
Located in Roger Williams Park on the south side of Providence, the Cormack Planetarium is easy to get to. Follow the signs off Route 95. Once you get into the park follow the signs to the museum. If you want precise directions please visit their web site at http://www.osfn.org/museum/. By the time you read this column, a new planetarium program will be in progress. A new show is offered every two months. There is a $1.00 admission to the Cormack Planetarium, in addition to a $2.00 admission to the Museum. Where can one have so much fun for so little money these days? And just a quick note: the museum and planetarium are handicap accessible. I put that accessibility to the test recently after hyper-extending my knee!
I hope you will find some time to visit the Cormack Planetarium. It's a wonderful little facility within easy reach of southern New Englanders. With the weather preventing us from enjoying our stargazing passion firsthand lately, I highly recommend that you plan to visit the Cormack Planetarium soon. Who knows? It may be the only stars you will see until the weather breaks!
In my next installment of Space Places in Rhode Island, I'll highlight one of several Rhode Island observatories that are open for public observing. There's nothing like looking through a telescope to kindle an interest in astronomy. Until then, visit the Cormack Planetarium where the skies are always cloud free, unless the cloud special effects projector is turned on! Oops!
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