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On Friday, July 12th, the Friends of the New Glarus Library sponsored a unique opportunity for children and adults. A portable, indoor planetarium was set up in the Village Hall Community room.

Normally one has to travel to see a planetarium building with its domed ceiling used to show projected star formations. So this was an unusual opportunity. There were actually two shows scheduled in five showings. The morning shows were geared for smaller children and while the afternoon shows were for those a bit older – or, in my case, a lot older.

Photo courtesy of Jim Roberts

The projector was able to show not only the summer sky but winter sky formations as well as outlines of the figures many of the star formations are said to form by the ancient observers. I appreciated these as I always have trouble figuring out, for example, how the stars are supposed to form a hunter. A young lady who is an expert in these formations was able to give a brief explanation before participants crawled through a tunnel into the dome. Then she was able to explain the different star formations as they were projected in an dome that was otherwise remarkably dark. It was actually a chance to see some formations that can be difficult to see outside directly as diffused city lights, even in the countryside, can blot out many stars. And, of course, the weather inside the dome had no clouds or wind or rain.