La Voz

Media Credit: Maureen Gamarra Construction continues inside De Anza's planetarium, which has been closed since spring 2006. Astronomy classes, which took place in the planetarium, relocated during construction. The remodeled acility is scheduled to reopen in April 2007.

When De Anza College's planetarium opened in 1970, it was state of the art. Since then advances in technology and astronomy have taken a lot of shine off the big-domed building.

In March 2006, the planetarium closed for renovations, temporarily dimming the lights, lasers and stars that taught students about the sky's constellations.

This spring quarter, students will again be able to learn about the stars in De Anza's technologically advanced planetarium.

"I'm really excited to imagine what it's going to be like. It's a really exciting time for us at the planetarium," said Karl von Ahnen, who works at the planetarium and has been overseeing the renovations.

The lobby is rearranged, the gift shop and restrooms have been updated and the theater is revamped.

The chairs are reupholstered and now face one direction, which improves the experience for teachers, students and audience members.

The screen in the planetarium has seamless lining, like a movie screen. The electronics have been updated: air conditioning, heating and lighting have been renewed, including new LED lights, and a new surround sound system has been installed in the theater.

The maximum capacity of the planetarium was 170 before the renovations, but was reduced to 145.

Planetarium fans can, for a $400 donation, have short personal messages engraved on one of the seats inside the theater. The name of the planetarium is also on sale, but the cost has not been set yet.

More information and updates are at the De Anza Planetarium Web site: http://www.planetarium.deanza.edu/karls corner/infinium_s.html.

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