Natural History Museum Partnership Brings Star Power to Family Fun Night

No matter the weather or season, Middletowners can always count on one particular night each month for a guaranteed clear view of the stars.

Tonight is that night.

The celestial multimedia show returns to the Krupowicz Planetarium at  for a "Planetarium Family Fun Night" presentation of “Oasis in Space,” a 45-minute full dome show that takes the audience on a voyage through the universe in search of liquid water. The shows change every month.

Each month, presenter Renée Gamba leads the show, one of many events made possible by a special NASA grant and the ongoing partnership between the Middletown Public Schools District and the Museum of Natural History in Providence, for which Gamba serves as director and also oversees the museum's own Cormack Planetarium at Roger Williams Park.

As part of that partnership for the last three years, Gamba has also served as community outreach director and presenter for Middletown's Krupowicz Planetarium.

She's become a familiar fixture around Middletown public schools and community events, providing lectures on the stars, constellations and wonders of the galaxy while running the special dome projection technology.

"I've probably seen the shows more times than I can now count," she said with a laugh after one recent show for students who took part in the district's new Winter Vacation Enrichment Program.

Prior to the school district and museum's partnership, the 1969-era planetarium was limited in its usage with only three teachers at the middle and high school levels trained to use the special projector and conduct the dome show, she said.

“Three years ago, the superintendent wanted to basically bring back the planetarium,” Gamba said. “The partnership was a natural fit and now, each week, it’s being used again.”

A special NASA grant for a Rhode Island Space Consortium has helped keep the partnership and programs alive, she said.

These days, the planetarium is used more regularly for classes, as teachers utilize the multimedia presentation to augment lesson plans that are part of students’ science curriculum. Additionally, the planetarium shows have become part of afterschool science enrichment programs, various community events, scouting troop activities, vacation camps, and private parties, noted Gamba.

Most recently, the public school district's February Vacation Enrichment program incorporated the planetarium alongside other activities such as culinary creations and origami. The students watched a presentation of "Cosmic Collisions" narrated by Robert Redford that explained the formation of the earth's moon.

The partnership with Middletown has also benefited the Natural History Museum at Roger Williams Park, as it has enabled the museum to reach out to more people throughout Rhode Island, Gamba noted.

“What’s exciting is that it also expands the museum’s natural boundaries,” she said.

March 8, 2011: Tonight’s Planetarium Family Fun Night begins at 7 p.m. and is approximately 45 minutes long. The Krupowicz Planetarium is located at Gaudet Middle School.

Tickets are $3 per person or $2 for those 8 and younger. No one under the age of 4 will be admitted. Space is limited to 60 people on a first come first serve basis. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, email Renee Gamba at rgamba@mpsri.net.