Community College of Southern Nevada

From: "Dr. Dale A. Etheridge" <drdale@nevada.edu>

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999

What has been occupying most of our time lately is keeping our heads above water. <g>

We recently closed "Destination Universe" and opened "In Search of Intelligence". The latter will run through the Summer. We are planning to open "The Explorers" from the Bishop Museum (Honolulu) in the Fall.

The College just got funding from the State for a new Science Complex (to be called "The Science Experience") at our West Charleston Campus in the amount of $17.2 million. Another $5-8 million for equipment will follow nearer the end of construction (about 3 years). We are awaiting word from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation on our proposal for another $12.7 million to add public and informal science components to this complex. The proposed public science additions will include a 60' planetarium dome (250 seat capacity) with Digistar and 8/70 film, a small science exhibit space and a public observatory. We expect to know if the Reynolds Foundation will fund our proposal by the end of July. If all goes well, we could be opening in January 2002. If not, it may take a little longer.

Our URL is http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu/other/Planetarium/

Photo: Architect's rendering of a cross-section of the Science Experience. The planetarium (earth globe) and exhibit hall are to the left. Not shown is the 3 story lecture/classroom buildi ng in the foreground between the observer and the free standing photovoltaic roof. To the right is the faculty office complex (floating second story only) and behind that is the 3 story laboratory building. The Science Experience includes 10 acres of landscaping that will be a desert arboretum featuring the six major desert biomes of the world. Rendering by Tate & Snyder Architects.