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from the issue of December 8, 2005
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Universal effort keeps planetarium running
BY CHELSEY JUNGCK, FOR THE SCARLET
Jack Dunn sat down at his desk with more excitement than most kids have on Christmas.
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| | | STAR PROJECTOR - Jack Dunn, director of the Ralph Mueller Planetarium in Morrill Hall, sits next to the planetarium star projector. In the background is a superimposed image of the universe. Dunn has worked at the planetarium for 34 years, helping to make the facility self-sufficient.
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In front of him, the surface of Mars fills his computer screen. He is the only Nebraska member of the Mars Visualization Alliance. Recently, as a part of this organization, Dunn was one of a few allowed to view an animation of the surface of Mars, based on the data from probes, and provide input before the public release.
This is just a part of the life Dunn leads as the director of the Ralph Mueller Planetarium at the University of Nebraska State Museum, in Morrill Hall. His job allows him to gaze at the night sky, follow the major news in the world of astronomy, and claim astronauts and astronomers as friends. He began work at the planetarium in 1971 and has been a constant in a universe full of change.
Mueller Planetarium opened in 1958 but there is almost nothing left of the original room except for the dome, the roof where a pattern of the night's sky is projected above the audience's head. Changes in technology, and the continual revolution of concepts of the universe, means Dunn has to design his shows to correlate with what is going on in astronomy news as well as what is of interest to the public.
"It is critical to us, and always has been, that we need to get people to come to the planetarium as those ticket sales provide the financial support for our operation," Dunn said.
The planetarium has been self-sufficient, through ticket sales, for quite some time.
The last bit of state funding went a few years ago. As a result, Dunn's position is no longer full time and he sometimes works on a volunteer basis.
"He's been extremely dedicated to stay on and he really puts in a lot of personal effort," said Priscilla Grew, director of the museum. "We wouldn't be able to have the program without him."
Dunn is the president of the Great Plains Planetarium Association, a member of the International Dark-Sky Association, which promotes better lighting in communities, a member of the International Laser Display Association, and a founding member of the Board of Supervisors at the Hyde Observatory.
"We're very fortunate to have Jack because he has great contacts," Grew said. "He's been able to bring a lot of things here that, if he didn't have the personal contacts or belong to the professional associations, we would just miss out on."
Dunn has made many friends in these organizations and throughout his career but it's the people he has touched who are most important to him.
"The people I've known are what makes the job interesting," Dunn said, "But the legacy, for me, is in the students and public I have met and hopefully influenced toward a positive attitude towards science."
"I just still have enthusiasm for telling people about the universe."
Mueller Planetarium is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays.
Shows begin at 2 p.m. and combine different styles of music with an astronomy lesson.
Currently, there are no laser light shows scheduled. The entrance fee is $4 for UNL faculty, staff, and students with a UNL identification card.
Chelsey Jungck is a senior at UNL in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, majoring in Advertising.
GO TO: ISSUE OF DECEMBER 8
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Universal effort keeps planetarium running
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