All his life, Shawn Laatsch knew he wanted to work in astronomy — in particular, in a planetarium, which is often the first place where young people have a truly inspiring experience learning about the cosmos.
Now, a few weeks into his new job as executive director of the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Emera Astronomy Center at the University of Maine, Laatsch is settling comfortably into Maine life, in the career he was born to do: educate the public about space.
“I’ve loved astronomy since I was a young boy and my grandfather took me outside and showed me constellations,” said Laatsch, who grew up in Wisconsin. “I was in second grade and we visited the planetarium in my home town. The operator there asked if anyone wanted to help, and I raised my hand. I got to bring the lights down. I was hooked.”
Laatsch, 45, has worked in planetariums for his entire career, most recently at the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii, a facility that holds both a planetarium and a large collection of galleries, which interweaves astronomy and Hawaiian culture. It’s not far from the Mauna Kea Observatories, one of the most renowned astronomical facilities in the world.
As a science educator, he’s passionate about making what might seem too academic easily understandable to the general public. One of his primary goals as director is the open up the facility to the public in more ways than simply hosting weekend star shows — which, of course, it does, offering an ever-changing variety of programs at 7 p.m. on Fridays and 2 p.m. on Sundays throughout the school year, with additional programs during school vacations.
Just three weeks since starting the job, he has already worked with Maine Discovery Museum director Niles Parker to interweave some of their respective programming, aiming to offer a one-admission price for both the museum and the planetarium. He’s eyeing a series of science lectures later in the year, and wants to offer up the dome — the curved planetarium screen onto which things are projected — to local doctors as an educational tool to demonstrate new surgical techniques, and to local artists who wish to experiment with the dome’s ultra high-definition projecting capabilities.
“We can do a lot of things here that are geared towards a general audience of all ages. … I would love to see more generalized outreach to the Bangor region,” said Laatsch. “We also have this incredible resource in the dome itself. It can do a lot of things other than just astronomy. There are so many possibilities here.”
Laatsch has a history of collaborating with organizations in the areas of planetariums where he has worked. When he was director at the Rauch Planetarium in Louisville, Kentucky, he worked with the Speed Art Museum and Churchill Downs to offer a program called “Horses, Art and Stars” which started as a school program but grew into a highly popular public program.
“Things like that are very important for the community, because it gives everyone a chance to support each other and to collaborate and to broaden their audiences,” said Laatsch. “One of my big things is making sure we work with a broad diversity of folks. People can have a lot of different experiences here.”
He will also oversee the moving of the historic Clark Telescope, built in 1901 and located since then just outside the Memorial Union, to the Emera Astronomy Center. Though plans for moving that telescope have been in the works for several years, Laatsch said that particular project is a challenging one, due to the delicacy of the instrument and the unique challenges in building an up to date, ADA-approved facility to house it.
Though it has been in its new home since October 2014, area residents that have not yet visited the new planetarium since it moved from Wingate Hall to Rangeley Road on campus will likely be in for a surprise. The facility is light years ahead technologically, boasting a comfortable auditorium and a dome that’s more than 50 percent larger than the 1950s era dome in the old building. The lobby is appropriately space-themed, with a soundtrack of whooshing stellar sounds that greets visitors at the door, and a large classroom can host lectures, workshops, youth camps and private rentals.
Furthermore, it’s set back from the bright lights of the rest of campus, meaning there’s more of the thing that any stargazer, professional or amateur, craves: darkness.
“I’ve been very impressed by the skies here [in Maine],” said Laatsch. “When you’re in a bigger city, the light pollution is just too high. Here, we can really see.”
A full listing of all upcoming star shows and other events at the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Emera Astronomy Center can be found online at http://astro.umaine.edu/.
