Museum to exhibit the world of astronomy

By MARTHA MARTINEZ

Even though construction on the Downing Planetarium Museum will finish in January 2005, the museum will not be open to the public until that fall.

The museum will have an exhibit area with black ceilings and no central lighting. But electrical outlets, about six feet apart on the floor, will be for the main lighting source for each exhibit.

The museum is currently under construction next to the Downing Planetarium. When completed, the two buildings will share a courtyard.

The next step to completing the museum will be adding the exhibits, director of the museum and physics professor Steven White said.

“Exhibits will demonstrate the basic principles of astronomy and physics,” White said. Among those exhibits, he said, will be a plasma column—a cylinder full of gas that looks like lightning—and a solar telescope that will be used to locate sunspots.

Kin-Ping Wong, director of the College of Math and Science, said the purpose of the museum and its exhibits is to provide a basic fundamental concept of science that people need in a technologically driven society.

A machine shop will also be located in the museum to construct exhibits, White said. An activity room will also be added to the museum for students to participate in activities provided by the planetarium and museum staff, such as locating stars and planets.

The museum will also have tours and activities as part of the standard planetarium show, as long as the museum has a respectable number of exhibits, White said.

The planetarium show runs on selected weekends, including a light show demonstrating the galaxy, which is presented in the 74-seat theater.

White said most of the visitors are children who attend the planetarium as part of a school field trip. The purpose of the museum is to inspire children to become interested in science and technology as well as learning, White said.

“Our primary benefit is to inspire students to work hard in school and to want to learn,” he said. “I think that’s where we play an important role.”

Fresno State students can also benefit from attending the planetarium show and the museum.

“Even though our primary customers are young children,” White said, “I think anybody who is interested in science and learning will benefit from the things we have to offer.”

Exhibits will provide plenty of information that can answer questions students may have about their general education science or elementary physics or chemistry classes, Wong said.

The idea for a museum stemmed three years ago when the Downing family asked the planetarium staff what they could do to make the planetarium run more smoothly.

“More space for exhibits,” White answered.

As a result, the Downing family donated $750,000 for the construction of the museum.