Starry role for Valley businesses
They’re raising $250K to return Dieruff’s planetarium to use.
What once seemed like a reach for the stars is now becoming a reality for the Allentown School District.
Local businesses have stepped up to pay for the $258,000 cost of reopening the Dieruff High School planetarium, now to be known as the Learning Dome.
It’s welcome news to district administrators and school board members who have wanted to reopen the long-shuttered planetarium, but couldn’t find the money to pay for the equipment upgrades.
Businesses, led by Lee Butz of Butz Construction, have raised $225,000 so far.
At a recent school board meeting, district solicitor John Freund announced that his law firm King
will donate $5,000 toward the Learning Dome.
“All the people who have prospered from Allentown are now giving back,” Director Robert E. Smith Jr. said. “This is a dream come true.”
The Learning Dome, slated to open next school year, would be used for not only astronomy, but also for subjects such as ecology, environmental science, geology, biology and anatomy.
The equipment would include a SciDome that comes with software showing students a three-dimensional universe that allows them to explore stars and galaxies.
Students also could explore areas such as oceans and the human body. The dome would come with documentaries and curriculum for teachers to use.
The revamped planetarium, seating 35 to 45 people, will be open to the community. Elementary schools could take field trips to the facility.
“This is a good thing not only for the school district but also for the city,” said Brandy Sawyer, director of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for the district. “This will open a lot of doors for the community.”
Dieruff’s planetarium, which opened in 1965, has been closed since 2010, when teacher Gary Becker retired after almost 40 years in the position.
There have been efforts to reopen the planetarium. In 2016, the school board voted to add a planetarium teacher to the budget.
Around that time, district administrators announced plans to revamp the planetarium into the Learning Dome by using a digital system.
But the district eventually decided that reopening and updating the equipment would be too costly.
When the district faced a $28 million deficit last year, district administrators said they needed a grant or a long-term partnership to fund the repairs the planetarium needed.
Other Lehigh Valley districts have planetariums. Bethlehem Area’s Freedom High has one for students taking astronomy electives. The district’s Broughal Middle School in south Bethlehem has one for students’ electives. Students in the East Penn School District use the planetarium at Emmaus High School.
Since Allentown’s closed, Smith has heard from local alumni about the fond memories they had in Dieruff’s planetarium. He has made it somewhat of a personal quest to make sure Allentown reopened it, so current and future generations of students could enjoy the same memories.
At school board meetings, Smith publicly pushed the disSpry trict to give updates on the Learning Dome and find solutions to pay for it.
In May, Smith said he wasn’t giving up, but added “it’s just aggravating that it’s taking two years.”
Butz read about Smith’s frustration with the funding for the Learning Dome in The Morning Call and called other business leaders to see what they could do, he said.
He felt as though businesses and leaders should rise up to help the district, he said.
“With all the wonderful things happening in the city of Allentown with development, the one remaining challenge we have is the success of the Allentown School District,” Butz said. “This is something that is really important to the continued development.” The planetarium could serve as a source of pride for Allentown students, too, Butz said.
“It’s also going to be a wonderful learning tool,” he said.
Butz would like to see the businesses raise $450,000 to ensure the longevity of the Learning Dome.
Some businesses have already pledged two- or three-year donations, Butz said. The district also received a grant from the Harry C. Trexler Trust to help with the costs.
The district is receiving personal donations for the Learning Dome that are being handled by the Allentown School District Foundation.
For Smith, the financial help from the community shows that others want to help Allentown School District students.
“I’m so happy,” Smith said. “Everyone worked as a team.”
“All the people who have prospered from Allentown are now giving back. This is a dream come true.” — Director Robert E. Smith Jr., Allentown School Board