Grand Reopening Celebration Weekend of Wonder May 30 & 31, 2015
Longway Planetarium will reopen as Michigan’s largest and most modern planetarium with a celebration that’s out of this world on May 30 & 31, 2015. During this weekend, all shows in the radically different planetarium theater are free and open to the public compliments of ITC Holdings. (ITC) The fun will kick off with star shows in the radically different planetarium theater on Saturday at 10am. For complete details including show schedule and trailers of the shows, visit SloanLongway.org.
Executive Director, Todd Slisher, said, “This renovation of Longway Planetarium will carry the facility into the future, making it a premier destination in Michigan for STEM education. This flexible new facility will take audiences on incredible journeys, from inside the human body, to the edge of the universe and beyond.”
Longway Planetarium has planned a weekend celebration starting on Saturday, May 30, 2015, in honor of the Planetarium renovation and reopening. The first official show will be Perfect Little Planet at 10:00am. Guests are encouraged to arrive early. Shows will be ticketed and available on a first come, first served basis. The day will be packed full of entertainment and activities, planetarium shows, solar observing, new exhibits, giveaways, balloon art, face painting and other family-friendly activities. All events, including the shows inside the new planetarium theater are free, compliments of ITC.
“The Longway Planetarium in Flint is one of Michigan’s most exciting educational and cultural gems,” said Daniel J. Oginsky, Executive Vice President, U.S. Regulated Grid Development for ITC Holdings Corp. and a native of the Flint area. “ITC is proud to support this important institution, and especially proud to sponsor the grand re-opening weekend. The Longway Planetarium and Flint Cultural Center Campus play a significant role encouraging students throughout the state to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and math.”
The new Planetarium system – the Digistar 5 – will give Flint and surrounding communities access to an impressive full-dome show library with incredible full-color immersive imagery covering the entire dome. The stars in the night sky will look fantastic, but there’s so much more this system can do. We will have a digital three-dimensional map of the entire universe. We can lift off from Earth and fly out of our solar system, out of our galaxy, and out to the very edge of the universe. We can work with the area higher education institutions to create three-dimensional views of automotive parts, allow medical educators the opportunity to show their students the inside of the human body (not just talk about it), engage in computer gaming, display GPS data… the list is only limited by the imagination. Imagine if you will students and teachers flying through the universe with a tap on a tablet or exploring the ocean depths with a XBOX controller.
Incorporating a new 16 meter dome, new epicentric seating, barrier-free access, and a digital 15,000 watt Dolby 7.1 surround sound system, the Full Dome Theater will be capable of accommodating a wide range of programs – from lectures to film series to live performances. But first and foremost, the planetarium is a remarkable education resource, allowing visitors to explore their universe and experience science through traditional live discussions and immersive virtual journeys –exploring the far reaches of the cosmos to traveling inside a cell.
Longway Planetarium is located on the Flint Cultural Center Campus, 1310 E. Kearsley Street, Flint. Planetarium hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5p.m., and Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 adults, $4 Seniors (60+), $4 Youth age 2-11, Children 1 and under are FREE. Longway Planetarium is a member organization of the Flint Cultural Center Corporation and is supported in part by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Ruth Mott Foundation. This activity is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Longway Planetarium is a member organization of Sloan*Longway and the Flint Cultural Center Corporation.
About ITC Holdings Corp.
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) is the nation’s largest independent electric transmission company. Based in Novi, Michigan, ITC invests in the electric transmission grid to improve reliability, expand access to markets, lower the overall cost of delivered energy and allow new generating resources to interconnect to its transmission systems. Through its regulated operating subsidiaries ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains, ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission facilities in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, serving a combined peak load exceeding 26,000 megawatts along 15,600 circuit miles of transmission line. ITC’s grid development focus includes growth through regulated infrastructure investment as well as domestic and international expansion through merchant and other commercial development opportunities. For more information, please visit ITC’s website at www.itc-holdings.com.
