Star Power

Park Planetarium Reopens After Undergoing $1.3 Million Renovation

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Lower and lower, the moon sank in the sky.
Like it was falling, it grew bigger and clearer.
You could detect craters and pockets.
And then?
There was a swoosh – a slip of the screen – and Jupiter appeared. The music swelled, growing more dangerous, it seemed, like a “Star Wars” theme.
And, alas! In a few more flashes, there was Saturn, glorious, with all its rings.
Pegasus danced among the stars.
And the universe twinkled, each speck of light representing another planet or sun or maybe a moon.
The audience oohed and ahhed.
And Adam Thanz sighed. His face revealed a smile.
“We’re very proud of this equipment,” said Thanz, the director of the Bays Mountain Planetarium, as he showed off a new optical star projector and bragged about the planetarium’s plush seats, now numbering more than 100.
All this three-dimensional technology – plus a new video presentation called “Connections,” co-designed by Thankz – marks a rebirth of the old planetarium, originally built in 1971 at the center of Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport.

‘HAVE A BLAST’
Call it star power.
Or maybe, it was just the curiosity to see what $1.3 million can do.
But last week’s grand-opening celebration of the newly renovated planetarium pulled in a capacity crowd. And now, the demand by schools has resulted in a visitors’ list numbering 5,600 students – all before the end of the spring semester.
“This is an educational facility,” Thanz said. “I know the school kids will have a blast to get excited about science and astronomy.”
This facility may not be a draw simply for children.
“It will attract people, said Miles Burdine, the president and CEO of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce. “Hopefully, people will want to come and stay here.”
Jud Teague, the executive director of the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau, hopes the planetarium might attract the interest of schools up to 300 miles away.
Who knows?
“There’s nothing better than this from Nashville to Washington, D.C.,” said avid stargazer Mark Marquette of Gray, Tenn. “As far as replicating being under the stars at South Holston Lake, this is what it looks like. This is a very cutting-edge everything.”
Grinning, Marquette compared the original planetarium to this new one, saying, “The old one was like a light bulb. And this is like a series of LED lights.”

‘VERY EXCITED’
Boasting surround sound and three-dimensional video, the newly configured planetarium replaces equipment that dated back to the 1970s. Closed for about a year, much of the planetarium’s renovation work was completed by Thanz and the planetarium’s educational interpreter, Jason Dorfman.
Today, Thanz said, the projector fills the entire dome of the planetarium – a seamless, super-smooth surface. “We’re one of the few planetariums in the world to create full-dome content.”
A new program, “Connections,” goes along with it, showing sights of nature and mountains as well as Pegasus – the flying horse – galloping across the galaxy.
Beyond the program, Thanz and Dorfman can also showcase different aspects of the moon or, possibly, receive live satellite feeds from NASA, Thanz suggested.
“We’re just very excited about what we can do with this theater,” Thanz said. “We really have jumped into the 21st century with this technology.”

IF YOU GO
What: Bays Mountain Park Planetarium
Where: 853 Bays Mountain Park Road, just off I-26, Kingsport, Tenn.
Info: (423) 229-9447