Saint Louis Science Center celebrates 50th anniversary of planetarium

“Tell us your story. Share your pictures,” said Bert Vescolani, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center. “People have been married in the planetarium, celebrated birthdays and bar mitzvahs. Those are milestones in life. We want you to share those memories, but we also want to hear about your first laser show or when your child first looked into the Gemini 6 Space Capsule and said ‘I want to be an astronaut.’ Those are the stories that connect us to one another and from one generation to the next generation.”

If you have a photo or story to share, email it to memories@slsc.org. If you have a video, you can post it to YouTube and send a link to memories@slsc.org.

If you do not have a digital copy of your photo, bring it to the Science Center and staff will scan it. You can also bring in any planetarium memorabilia and tell your story by visiting the Memory Station in the Planetarium Lobby on the following dates and times:

• Monday, February 18 (Presidents’ Day) Noon to 3 PM
• Friday, March 1, 6 PM-9 PM

The Science Center also has many 50th Anniversary events scheduled to mark the yearlong, momentous occasion, including its Planetarium Celebration Week beginning April 13.

Here are a few of the events planned for the beginning of the year:

Feb. 9 - Cheap Date Night: Romance across the Universe

March 7 - Jazz under the Stars: Fly Me to the Moon

March 9 - Aviation Day

March 22 - Cheap Date Night: Vernal Equinox

April 5 - First Friday: Aliens and Astronauts, Celebrating the Planetarium!

April 13 – 21 - Planetarium Celebration Week – Space-themed OMNIMAX® movies, 50-cent admission to the Planetarium Shows, Planetarium 50th Anniversary Exhibition opens

April 15 - Science with the Symphony, Voyager: The Golden Record

April 16 - Presentation: Fifty Years of Astronomy, Charles Schweighauser, first
Planetarium Director

April 20 - Astronomy Day with evening Public Telescope Viewing

For more information, visit: slsc.org.