The Weekly publishes feature on new Emera Astronomy Center director
The Weekly published a feature article on Shawn Laatsch, the new executive director of the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Emera Astronomy Center at the University of Maine. Laatsch has worked in planetariums his entire career, most recently at the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii, a facility that holds both a planetarium and a large collection of galleries, which interweaves astronomy and Hawaiian culture, according to the article. As a science educator, Laatsch said he is passionate about making what might seem too academic easily understandable to the general public. One of his primary goals as director is the open up the facility to the public beyond hosting weekend star shows, the article states. “We can do a lot of things here that are geared towards a general audience of all ages,” Laatsch said. “I would love to see more generalized outreach to the Bangor region. We also have this incredible resource in the dome itself. It can do a lot of things other than just astronomy. There are so many possibilities here.”