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Star sponsorships new at Fresno State

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Not only can you wish upon a star at Fresno State's new Downing Planetarium, but you can sponsor one too. The "sponsor a star" program allows donors to pick from thousands of stars that can be sponsored at levels ranging from $50 to $2,500.

Dr. Steven White, professor of physics and planetarium director, said star sponsorship funds will be used to purchase equipment and additional programming for the planetarium.

It takes about 20 star sponsorships at the $50 level in order to purchase a new planetarium program for the public.

"Star sponsorships are the perfect gift for special occasions, birthdays or that hard-to-buy-for someone," White said. "The star sponsorship program is designed to let everyone be a part of the planetarium."

White said the brightest and most famous stars like Sirius and Rigel will be the most expensive to sponsor. The least expensive stars to sponsor are the dimmer ones, which White said are still visible to the human eye.

"There are about 5,000 stars visible to the human eye," said White. "We are working toward the sponsorship of the first 100."

Stars will be charted on a map in the planetarium, and on the side of the map will be a key and grid number that will allow donors to find their sponsored star. The donor's name will appear on the star sponsor map in the planetarium lobby.

The map will be updated periodically as the planetarium obtains more sponsorships.

Thousands of Valley school children will attend the planetarium on field trips and White wants to mark their attendance by sponsoring a star for each class visit. "When the children come back, year after year, they will be able to see their class on the sponsorship wall," said White.

All Downing Planetarium star sponsors will receive a certificate, a poster-sized star map, a "Getting Started in Astronomy" pamphlet and recognition on the star sponsor map in the planetarium lobby.

A private dedication ceremony for the new planetarium is planned on Saturday, Feb. 5.

A grand opening is planned in March and the planetarium will open to the public in March or April. The planetarium is named for

Dr. F. Harold Downing, who donated more than $1,375,000 for its construction and for science scholarships.

For more information on sponsoring a star or scheduling a class visit for a planetarium show, call (559) 278-2371.