Today I follow-up and in all likelihood conclude my coverage of the plight confronting the Paulucci Space Theatre in Hibbing. On Dec. 1, the planetarium will temporarily close for public shows. In the spring, the facility will reopen under a new business model. The planetarium will be rented on an as-needed basis for school groups, parties and for other educational purposes. This will end the free Wednesday sky shows that had been going on for years and all other walk-up business.The decision was all but forced by the state budget situation as Hibbing Community College (disclosure: my employer) can no longer afford to subsidize the educational programming there.
The planetarium is another of those unusual features of the Iron Range that made growing up here a couple decades ago so interesting. Less is not more. This star is getting denser and denser. One can only hope the facility continues to serve school children and interested stargazers for years to come.
I put the Paulucci Theatre issue in deeper context in this earlier post.
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