VCSU Planetarium turns 50 and asks the community to ‘Please donate to keep our stars!’

Wes Anderson, Valley City State University Planetarium Director and Curator of the Barnes County Museum, shared the need to purchase a new star lamp for the planetarium recently with the community. Anderson says, “We need $3,595 to be exact to cover the cost of replacement, $4,000 to round up nicely and cover any unforeseen additional expenses.”

The VCSU Planetarium celebrated its 50 birthday recently and holds the title of the only planetarium in North Dakota. Anderson shares, “But lately, I’ve been having some technical difficulties, then the Spitz company that’s been maintaining it for the last 30 years discontinued its service in December of 2022 and we’ve had to go to a new company called Ash Enterprises. There has been a lingering problem that we’ve not been able to pin down and it has caused us to not have stars. A planetarium without stars is just a dark room. Like I tell my students, the star of the show are the stars on the dome! But thanks to Chuck Mielke’s electrical work we were able to figure out what was not wrong with the machine and Ash sent me a new LED star lamp as the old one was xenon arc and whatever wasn’t working wouldn’t get it to light. The new LED works swell and I want to keep it. Xenon Arc lamps are no longer being made and there is a dwindling supply of them, the future is LED. The original plan was for us to pay in increments and eventually get a new LED lamp in a few years. The recent problems expedited matters and we have this one now on approval, but it is not paid for. So we need to pay for it or we will go back to the old arrangement”

Anderson is asking for help from the community in raising the necessary $3,595/$4,000 needed to keep the new LED lamp. He asks that anyone interested in donating money to pay for the lamp do so by visiting https://www.vcsualumni.org/donation-pages/planetarium.html. “All donations are greatly appreciated. Please donate to keep our stars!” says Anderson.

The Planetarium is located on the campus of Valley City State University in the Rhoades Science Building. Visit https://www.vcsualumni. org/donation-pages/planetarium.html. For more information call VCSU Foundation at 701-8457203 or Wes Anderson at the 701-845-0966.