Opening of the Tessmann Planetarium
By Jose Servin
Tessmann Planetarium is now open.
Santa Ana College President Erlinda Martinez hosted the opening of the renovated planetarium and the Veterans Resource Center today at a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
Steve Eastmond, professor of astronomy at SAC, and Bob Menn, planetarium educator, led a tour of the Tessmann that featured a preview of A Tour of Our Solar System, a new show that opens April 13.
“We are not just citizens of earth, we are citizens of the solar system,” said Menn, as the lights dimmed in the projector room and stars illuminated the planetarium’s ceiling.
Updates to the building include a new roof, improved HVAC units, an updated lobby, and reupholstered seats in the projector room.
The renovations were funded by Measure E, a $337 million bond approved by voters in 2002 to update buildings in the Rancho Santiago Community College District.
“We built it so it lasts not one hundred years, but one thousand years,” said Larry Labrado, President of the Board of Trustees for RSCCD.
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