Barlow Planetarium facts for kids
The Barlow Planetarium is a cool place where you can explore space! It's a special kind of theater called a planetarium. You can find it in Menasha, Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Fox Cities Campus. It opened in 1998 and was the very first big planetarium in Wisconsin. The planetarium is named after F. John Barlow, a businessman who loved minerals.
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Discovering the Barlow Planetarium's History
The Barlow Planetarium got its name from a generous person named F. John Barlow. He gave a lot of money to help build this amazing place. The planetarium first opened its doors in March 1998. Its very first show was called "Through the Eyes of Hubble." This program taught visitors about the Hubble Space Telescope. It showed how the telescope was fixed and what it discovered in its early years.
Exploring the Planetarium's Cool Features
The Barlow Planetarium has many awesome features for its visitors.
Seating and Interaction
The main theater can seat 102 people. There are 98 regular chairs and four spots for wheelchairs. Each seat has a special control panel on the armrest. This lets the audience vote or answer questions during the shows. It makes the experience interactive and fun!
Amazing Projection Systems
The planetarium uses several cool projectors to show images on its dome.
- Panorama Slide Projectors: These create wide, sweeping views of space.
- All-Sky System: This system uses six pie-shaped images. When put together, they fill the entire dome with one big picture.
- Video Projection: You can watch videos on the dome from DVDs, computers, or other sources.
- Digistar II Star Projector: This is the main projector that creates realistic views of stars and planets. It makes you feel like you're really in space!
Laser Light Shows
In 2004, the Barlow Planetarium added a special laser projection system. This system uses a three-color argon laser. It can draw amazing images set to music right onto the dome. These laser shows are very popular and add a unique touch to the planetarium experience.
Powerful Sound System
To make the shows even more immersive, the planetarium has a super powerful sound system. It has 10,000 watts of sound! This makes the music and narration sound incredible, pulling you deeper into the space adventure.
