STAR POWER

Hallstrom Planetarium is local portal to the cosmos

BY ELLEN GILLETTE

While we’re fortunate to have Kennedy Space Center only a short drive north, a world of beauty and knowledge may be found in our own backyard.

Hallstrom Planetarium is located in the Brinkley Science Center — Building N on campus maps — of Indian River State College’s Massey Campus, 3209 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce. Of the 19 planetariums in Florida, it is the only one on the Treasure Coast.

The $8.6 million science center housing the planetarium premiered in early 1993, to prepare students for the growing need for science and health careers. The three-story facility includes laboratories, lecture halls, classrooms and a teaching auditorium. 

Hallstrom Planetarium is the crown jewel. Featuring a fully-immersive, 360-degree digital projection system and a state-of-the-art Spitz 512 projector, the 40-foot, domed ceiling recreates the night sky above comfortable seating from September through June.

“The projector is actually the planetarium: What I call our ‘friendly robot,’” director Jon Bell said. He’s been at Hallstrom for more than 30 years. “Some places just have digital now, but I prefer the star field this thing puts out. The resolution is higher.”

“What I like about this job is that I can provide students with the same chance I had to fall in love with the universe,” Bell said in a newspaper interview shortly after he was hired. “Not every college has a planetarium. This is a wonderful place and a wonderful opportunity.”

Originally planning to keep his academic feet on the ground as a geologist or paleontologist, volunteer hours at the planetarium in Plattsburgh, New York, changed Bell’s trajectory. “I had been exposed to astronomy as a Boy Scout, and had gone to planetariums,” Bell said. “But there, I learned to operate the equipment.” 

After interning at the Hayden — part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York — Bell spent 14 years as a planetarium and observatory director in Virginia, before coming to what was then Indian River Community College.

PUBLIC SHOWS

The planetarium’s reach extends beyond the student body. A multitude of engaging programs throughout the year is available to the general public. In addition to teaching, Bell produces and presents many of the programs shown at Hallstrom. Some have won international acclaim, including one narrated by Star Trek: Voyager actor Kate Mulgrew.

One-minute updates of the local sky are featured on Bell’s Skywatch radio segment, aired on WQCS/88.9FM at 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 12:59 p.m. A live Sky Report also airs Thursday at 8:10 a.m. on WPSL/1590AM.

Tickets for planetarium shows may be purchased online, at the IRSC box office in the McAlpin Theatre or on-site at the planetarium gift shop. Saturday children’s programs feature topics such as space shapes, the galaxies and stories about constellations.

Some of the public shows are free, while others range in price from $7 to $15 — a bargain for the caliber of entertainment and education offered. Laser Light Shows had a limited run in October, with a variety of musical themes: from family time at 7 p.m., to an 11:30 p.m. show with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Part-time theater assistant Ariel Galan works in the gift shop and helps with narration. “We hope to bring the laser shows back next year,” she said. Ticket and merchandise sales provide income for planetarium programs, as well as the college’s astronomy club outings.

SEASON TO SEASON

Much like the fact that the earth’s orbit around the sun causes the night sky to change with the seasons, Hallstrom Planetarium shows change each year — with one exception. The December show Star of Wonder has become a holiday tradition. It traces the path of the mysterious star followed by the Three Wise Men to the manger where Jesus was born. 

From an astronomer’s standpoint, what might those travelers from the East have seen? A comet, a meteor, a supernova? The annual show asks what would have compelled them to journey hundreds of miles across desert and mountains in search of answers. 

Shows also encompass history, music, even theater. In February 2023, African Skies honored Black History Month with an interactive program based on the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, used by Underground Railroad operatives to secretly reveal escape instructions and a map with directions. The “drinking gourd” referred to the Big Dipper constellation. Slaves on the run could follow Polaris, the North Star that is part of the Dipper, to freedom.

“The show was a combination of traditional show and theatrical performance by a cast of students,” Bell said. 

This season’s Starlight Series schedule [evenings, with some Saturday matinees] includes Daughter of the Stars, stories of the sky as told by indigenous tribes in North America; a free and safe guided viewing of a lunar eclipse in March; and April’s Cosmic Zoom, written and narrated by Bell, and produced by IRSC students.

Field trips are available at a modest fee Tuesday through Friday, by appointment, with two weeks’ notice. Bell has been impressed by some of the questions students pose. “The other day a fifth grader asked why, since Mercury is closer to the sun than Venus, Venus is hotter. That’s a college question. So, we talked about atmosphere.”

Hallstrom also offers corporate or group events at varied rates. And for adults who want to learn in greater depth, two-hour instructional workshops are given the first Wednesday of each month [except January]. Reservations are required, as class size is limited; the cost is $25.

A free event on Feb. 1, from 3-9 p.m., will feature telescope viewing, courtesy of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society.

Planetariums require teamwork. Someone sets the appointments and sells tickets. IT specialists maintain equipment. Volunteers help during shows. Members of the astronomical society are often on hand after shows, setting up their personal telescopes in the parking lot to give folks a chance to study the sky themselves. 

Port St. Lucie resident David Brown, president of the astronomical society, has been active for close to 30 years. “A love of astronomy got me involved,” he said. “I was a military brat. Living overseas without TV, you found things to do. My twin brother and I got a telescope.” Later in life, he rekindled his romance with the night sky and found the club.

Star enthusiasts meet at the college monthly and visit schools and groups. Periodically, they host public stargazing events away from the light pollution of the city.

“Summertime, it rains a lot,” Brown said. “When it isn’t raining, the mosquitoes try to carry you off. Fall, winter and spring, though, we do impromptu stargazing events or camp at Kissimmee Prairie Reserve.”

Who knows how many space explorers Hallstrom Planetarium will create this year — and into the future?

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