Planetarium Might Get NASA Grant

UNC officials hope the U.S. Congress will approve a grant from NASA that would give the University more than $1 million to turn the planetarium into the Morehead Science Discovery and Outreach Center.

"Our plan is to expand the scientific focus and the capabilities of the Morehead Planetarium," said Morehead Center Director Holden Thorp.

Austin Guiles, the planetarium's assistant director, said UNC has been looking for ways to upgrade technology and facilities.

"The grant money would essentially be used for the planning of that," he said.

The proposed center would have three components: an enhanced discovery center with exhibits from University research; an interactive, Web-based center; and several mobile units, which will travel throughout North Carolina to bring the Morehead Center to students and teachers around the state, biology Professor Walter Bollenbacher said.

Bollenbacher designed UNC's only current mobile unit, the Destiny bus.

UNC officials went with Destiny to Washington, D.C., July 10 and 11 to give North Carolina's congressmen and staff a tangible example of UNC's plan for the revitalized Morehead Center.

During that trip, Rep. David Price (D-4th), announced that the House appropriations subcommittee of which Price is a member had approved $1.5 million for the planetarium through a NASA grant, Bollenbacher said.

Thomas Bates, spokesman for Price, said the bill has now passed the full appropriations committee and is seeking House and Senate approval, but the representative said he is confident the money is secured.

Bates said Price felt getting a grant for the planetarium to be a worthy pursuit.

"He's been familiar with the work of the science bus and was convinced with the needs of (the planetarium) to make plans to update the facilities," Bates said.

In total, the congressman helped to appropriate $4.4 million for N. C. science facilities.

Shelton seemed enthusiastic about the learning possibilities that UNC's proposed center could bring to students around the state. He said more than 2,000 students and teachers had visited Destiny since Jan. 1 to do experiments and learn about science.

Shelton said, "I think (the center) will be a logical 21st-century expansion of what the Morehead Planetarium has done so well for the last 50 years."

Emily Drum can be reached

at edrum@email.unc.edu.