Looking skyward
By Kayleigh Skinner KSkinner@commercialappeal.com 901-529-2492 Renovated planetarium makes its debut to wide eyes
Esme and Thea Larschan wiggled with excitement as they waited for the doors to open and let them inside the revamped planetarium at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum.
Once seated, they tapped their father, Brad, on the shoulder repeatedly to remind him to look up at the domed ceiling overhead.
Larschan and his 7-year-old twin daughters were one of many families who visited the Pink Palace for the grand reopening of the AutoZone Dome at the Sharpe Planetarium, where a yearlong renovation has been completed.
The president of Konica Minolta Planetarium Co., who came from Tokyo, was present for the recent opening, as was the president of Magna-tech Electronic Co. of Miami.
Konica Minolta provides digital planetarium systems and Magnatech installed it.
As for visitors like Larschan and his daughters, it didn’t matter who provided the system.
“The girls are studying the stars and the night sky at school, and so we thought it would be great to come and see it at the planetarium,” Larschan said.
The planetarium now features new seats and carpeting, and a switch from the analog technology to digital video technology, said Ronda Cloud, marketing and public relations manager for the museum.
The renovation of a little more than $1 million was funded by the museum and the city, assisted by the museum’s board of trustees and AutoZone, a naming partner.
During the renovations, a fire
destroyed the dome so it was replaced as well, Cloud said. The new technology and lighting allow for a variety of shows and effects, she said.
The new software can show the night sky a million years into the future and the past. The planetarium offers three shows, and the new technology allows the museum to produce its own shows. There will be music shows in the future, Cloud said.
“With the old planetarium, you could look up into the space,” Cloud said. “With the new planetarium, you can go up into space and look down onto Earth.”
Nancy Riethoff took her husband and son to the Pink Palace Saturday to see the “Firefall” show for their first experience in a planetarium.
“I thought it was great,” Riethoff said. “It was about meteors and asteroids and their effect on the planets.”
Her 12-year-old son, Gavin Hile, agreed, calling the experience “pretty cool.” John Phillips and Chris Schooley originally planned to watch the “Winter Stargazing” show but bought tickets to see Firefall as well.