As the spring semester continues, the Fred G. Dale Planetarium has planned new and never-before-seen shows to be played for students at WSC.
Each show follows the same format, except for Easter weekend. At 7 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday, there will be Planetarium shows that are all brand new, with only one repeated show.
“The only ones that usually get repeated are the few very popular general shows, like STARS, and Earth, Moon, and Sun,” Todd Young, the planetarium director, said.
According to the WSC website, some of the new shows include Eclipses and Phases of the Moon, Eclipse Across America 2024, Tales of the Mayan Skies, The Sky We Don’t See, The Sistine Chapel, Astronaut, Cosmic Colors, and Oasis in Space.
“I try to have a very diverse set of planetarium shows because I do have a large library,” Young said.
On Easter weekend, there will be showings of The Sistine Chapel for three days, compared to the two days each weekend in the past. According to the WSC website, there will be two extra shows on Sunday.
“I’m trying to cater to the many people that would go to continue celebrating Easter in the afternoon after going to church in the morning,” Young said. “That’s what makes it a special weekend.”
The laser shows following the planetarium show are a part of every weekend other than Easter weekend. Students might wonder what the laser shows are, since they aren’t listed as planetarium shows according to the website.
“All laser shows are sets of popular music set in sync with laser light patterns and images shown on the dome,” Young said. “Where the planetarium shows are intended to be entertaining and educational, the laser shows are just purely for entertainment and listening to great music.”
According to the WSC website, the shows end on Saturday, May 3, which is right before finals week.
“We only have public shows during the regular academic year.” Young said. “The only public shows I have in the summer are for Chicken Days.”