Media Report on Emera Astronomy Center Construction

WVII (Channel 7), WABI (Channel 5) and WLBZ (Channel 2) reported on the construction of the University of Maine’s Emera Astronomy Center that is slated to open in the fall of 2014. The $5.2 million astronomy center will be the new home of the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Observatory. The center will feature a planetarium dome 33 feet in diameter — the largest in the state — equipped with a state-of-the-art projection system. “It’s very exciting for me to see the program invest in something that’s going to bring a lot of young people in and teach them about STEM education,” said Karl Ward, president and CEO of Nickerson & O’Day, a Maine-based firm that was awarded the construction bid for the center.