STAR SEARCH Marietta College to add planetarium
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t’s an experience that just about every child has had—lying in the grass, looking up at an unfolding night sky, connecting the bright white dots and hoping to figure out what exactly the Big Dipper is supposed to be. For centuries, people have looked to the heavens in search of answers. “A lot of mathematics was spawned by trying to understand the sky and the movements of the planets,” said retired physics professor Dr. Les Anderson. “Astronomy is now a considerable part of the focus on trying to explain the most foundational things, like the creation of the universe.” In about a year, Marietta College students will be able to study the heavens from a distance never before offered on campus, thus further enhancing the science education offered at the College. In November, Dave ’78 and Brenda Rickey announced they were donating $2.7 million to a $4.2 million project that would build a planetarium, endow a professorship and establish an endowment for the building. “Brenda and I are excited about building a planetarium at Marietta College. We love science, particularly astronomy, and we hope the planetarium serves everybody in the Marietta College community, as well as the many future visitors from all over Ohio and West Virginia,” said Dave Rickey. “Furthermore, we are pleased to name the building the Anderson Hancock Planetarium, in honor of two retired Marietta physics professors, Les Anderson and Whit Hancock. These dedicated and inspiring teachers mentored me and many other physics students over several decades.” The 4,400-square-foot Anderson Hancock Planetarium will adjoin the Rickey Science Center and is expected to open in January 2009. Its planetarium theater will be 40 feet in diameter with an additional 3-foot-wide perimeter aisle equipped with enough theater seats to accommodate between 85 and 100 people. Dr. Dennis Kuhl, chair of the physics department, said the projection system will combine an optical-mechanical star-field projector with a powerful full-dome digital video projector. The optical-mechanical projector will have the capabilities of accurately charting the night skies from thousands of years ago to thousands of years into the future. “If you could turn the aisle lights out in the planetarium so it’s completely dark, and you look up at that projection and focus on one group of stars, you could easily forget that you’re not outside looking up on a very clear night,” Anderson said. Having donated the majority of funds to the project, the Rickeys have challenged the College to raise the remaining $1.5 million. “Dave and Brenda Rickey’s gift to build a planetarium and establish a professorship promises to strengthen an already impressive science program at Marietta,” said Lori Lewis, vice president of Advancement. “We are tremendously grateful for the Rickeys’ willingness to offer the funding today that will keep Marietta among the finest and most respected small colleges in the country.” — GS
> PIONEERING PROFESSORS For complete biographies on Dr. Les Anderson and Dr. Whit Hancock visit http://www.marietta.edu/news/bios
“if you could turn the aisle lights out in the planetarium so it’s completely dark, and you look up at that projection and focus on one group of stars, you could easily forget that you’re not outside looking up on a very clear night.” DR. LES ANDERSON (PICTURED LEFT)
Learn about the latest donation from the Kremer family that will enhance the campus on page 16.