Fiske You Were Here
When 91Ҹ residents Drew Simon and Ron Marks have free weekend time, they know where they’ll be:Fiske Planetarium.
More than five years ago, the friends began attending planetarium shows on CU 91Ҹ’s campus and now have seen more than 40 of them. They’ve experienced everything from energetic laser displays featuring music from the Grateful Dead or Jimi Hendrix to immersive scientific programs about black holes and galaxies.
Sometimes they’ll see eight shows in a day during the annual in April, which the planetarium hosts and features short films and utilizes immersive media.
“At its heart, Fiske isn’t just about astronomy or music — it’s an immersive experience,” Simon said in aColorado Arts and Sciences Magazine profile. “It’s an art form that’s still finding its full expression.”
Fiske Planetarium opened in 1975 as thelargest planetarium between Los Angeles and Chicago, a title it still retains with a 65-foot dome and 200-seat capacity. Its first show was about supernovae and their influence on Earth’s life.
Each year, the planetarium has held more than 700 public shows, not including field trips for K-12 students, CU classes and other special events. More than 60,000 visitors come to the planetarium annually, said Carla Johns, the planetarium’s community relations and engagement manager.
“Over the last 50 years, we estimate over a million people have seen a talk or a show at Fiske,” she said.
The planetarium’s best-selling shows range from topics likestars and planets to aTaylor Swift-themed laser show.
“Surprisingly,” said Johns, “Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon laser show has become a planetarium classic and is as popular now as it was back in the ’70s.”
What shows do you remember seeing at Fiske? Email us ateditor@colorado.edu.
Photo courtesy of Fiske Planetarium