Planetarium Hosts Open House

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium opened their doors for the public and the Texas A&M International University students on Thursday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.The planetarium invited the community to have a magical movie experience being that this is the only dome shaped theater in Laredo.

When the doors opened in 2005, the TAMIU Planetarium was 18th of its kind around the world using this type of system. The purpose of this open house was for the TAMIU community to find out how the planetarium functions, experience a different way of watching films, and to know about another attraction offered in Laredo. Laura Jimenez, assistant director, stated that this will also help students know where the planetarium is located. "They see the pyramid, but they don't see what's in there or how to get in there," she stated. All these films portray several meanings; they can be from historical, musical, documentaries, to even kid's entertainment. The planetarium started playing feature films such as Monsters Inc., Jurassic Park, Toys Story, Bolt, Despicable Me, and Bolt. All of these films are selected based on a survey that students fill out, and the most popular films get shown.

This Planetarium started because of a donation from the Lamar Bruni Vergara Charitable Trust. For the planetarium to get maintenance, they receive donations from the community. Some of these donations come from The Union Pacific, R Communications, Chase, the TAMIU Bookstore and The Village. The equipment has a value of around $15,000 per projector and $2,000 per lightbulb.

Various events will be hosted for the month of September; a variety of shows will be played on Saturdays, every hour starting from 2 p.m., being the first show, to 5 p.m., being the last show.

For more information, you may call (956) 326-3663 or email planetarium@tamiu.edu

(Sandy Lugo may be reached at sandylugoespinoza@dusty.tamiu.edu)