F. Harold Downing Family gift
to planetarium totals $1,375,000

by Mary Lisa Russell

Fresno State is literally thanking its lucky stars - Dr. F. Harold Downing and his family - for a second major gift to complete the construction of the Downing Planetarium on campus.

This second gift - $535,000 - brings the Downing family total contribution to $1,375,000. Last fall they gave $600,000 to fund the construction of the Downing Planetarium and established a $240,000 endowment that funds six scholarships per year for an outstanding senior from each department in the School of Natural Sciences.

"These additional funds will allow expansion of the Downing Planetarium building from 2,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet," said university President John D. Welty. "The additional space will be used for a teacher training/resource center, an enlarged lobby for science displays, and a much-needed work space for planetarium program production."

The Downing Planetarium, which is scheduled to begin construction in September, will have a central theater with 70 seats under a 30 foot diameter hemispherical dome. The planetarium is the first building to be constructed on the site of a proposed Central California Science Center on campus.

The second gift provides funds for eight computer workstations with ethernet access and planetarium equipment upgrades. The planetarium theater will feature a computer-controlled Spitz A3P star projector capable of producing breathtaking views of the night sky under ideal dark sky conditions.

The star projector will be complemented by 29 slide projectors, a video projector, a special multi-colored theater lighting display for the dome, and a surround-sound audio system. The equipment and lights will be run from a pair of computers, programmed in advance, to present a fantastic display of light and sound, all for the purpose of science education.

"The Downing Planetarium will certainly become a focal point for science education and teacher training in the Central Valley," said Dr. Steven J. White, planetarium director. "We will present a wide variety of programs, both live and fully automated, which will allow teachers to select material best suited for their particular needs.

White said that the additional funding will also allow staff to produce state-of-the art planetarium programming. "I would not be surprised if, within a couple of years, we find planetaria all over the world running planetarium programs produced at Fresno State by the Downing Planetarium."

In addition, White is working with NASA and Boeing to bring a permanent International Space Station exhibit to the Downing Planetarium. Student research projects in astronomy will now become possible at Fresno State as a result of the additional funds from the Downing family.

"We now have the funds to construct a new observatory equipped with a computer-controlled 16-inch telescope and a research grade digital camera," said White. "The observatory will allow us to get more of our students involved in exciting research projects in the Physics Department at Fresno State."

The observatory, to be built in the foothills, will be comprised of two buildings, a 3.5-meter dome for the telescope and a separate control room located nearby. Students and faculty will be able to work from the control room at the observatory or from the resource center at the Downing Planetarium.