SKYWATCHERS OF AFRICA RETURNS TO THE PLANETARIUM DOME

 

The William M. Staerkel Planetarium will open the spring semester public schedule with the return of an old show.  "Skywatchers of Africa" was originally produced by the Adler Planetarium and premiered on the Staerkel dome in the late 1990's.   It will return to the dome beginning January 17 and show at 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights until the end of February.  Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students, seniors and kids, all sold at the door. 

 

"When a planetarium illustrates sky stories, they are typically Greek, Roman, or Native American," says Dave Leake, director of the planetarium.   "It is refreshing to hear a few stories from the African continent."   In addition to the mythology, we also learn how different African cultures used the sky for telling directions or realizing the day of the year.   The Egyptians, Youruba, Nabta, Tuareg, and Dogon people are all featured in the show. 

 

The program was originally produced in 35mm slide format.  The images were scanned and fulldome clips added to convert the program to the digital fulldome format. 

 

For a full schedule of planetarium programs, call 217-351-2446 or see www.parkland.edu/planetarium.