Page 8
January 17, 2018
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
OMSI welcomes the public to its improved and diversified space science program and a fully-renovat-
ed planetarium.
OMSI’s Space
Science Overhaul
New content and program focus
The Oregon Museum of Sci-
ence and Industry (OMSI) has
some exciting new updates to
its stellar space science pro-
gram.
With support from a NA-
SA-funded grant focused on
sharing the importance of
Science, Technology, Engi-
neering, and Math (STEM)
education with underserved
communities, the museum re-
cently completed new content
and programs.
OMSI’s 25-year-old plan-
etarium received an overhaul
from top to bottom: new seats
and carpet, dome cleaning, a
new laser system and a new
projection system.
“The public’s expectations
are much higher now with their
exposure to multimedia pre-
sentations, which is why plan-
etariums like ours are changing
to address those expectations,”
said Jim Todd, the space sci-
ence director at OMSI. “The
new projection system will
take us to a new level and al-
low us to be even more creative
in the type and variety of pro-
gramming we offer.”
The fully-renovated plane-
tarium will enable Todd and his
team to actively practice OM-
SI’s mission of inspiring curi-
osity in people of all ages and
backgrounds through deeply
immersive and engaging space
science programming.
“We will continue to de-
velop and deliver shows that
we can tie in with current and
upcoming events like eclipses,
meteor showers, visible plan-
ets and more,” said Todd. “The
universe will never look the
same.”
The OMSI team collaborat-
ed with Portland’s Rose City
Astronomers, Rosa Parks El-
ementary School, Libraries of
Eastern Oregon, and Science-
Works Hands-On Museum to
develop the new content.
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