They’re baaack! The lasers, that is! The planetarium has the Prismatic Magic laser projection system temporarily installed again for a repeat of the extremely popular “LaserFest” celebration held in September 2016. This time, the laser system will be here for two weeks! The “March Madness: Spring Laser Spectacular” is a 10-day laser festival where there will be educational and musical laser shows presented each day. “Usually only the big planetariums like the ones in Chicago, Miami or New York have laser shows, but with the advances in laser technology, more moderate-sized planetariums like ours can now experience the same amazing imagery,” says James Albury, coordinator of the planetarium.
“This is one of the most advanced laser projection systems available for planetariums. We’ll have brilliant, full-color, flicker-free laser imagery using the primary projector and a secondary projector will produce hundreds of dazzling diffraction laser effects over the entire surface of the dome.,” continues Albury.
The ‘Spring Laser Spectacular’ will be held starting Thursday, March 16, thru Sunday, March 26, 2017; with special midday showings between Monday, March 20 – Friday, March 24, for youngsters who are out of school for spring break. “We will feature educational programs such as ‘Lasers in Space’ and ‘Laser Safari’ as well as the traditional music laser shows ‘Laser Beatles’, ‘Laser Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon‘ and ‘Laser Led Zeppelin‘ just to name a few,” adds Albury.
Ticket prices are $7.00 per person for the matinee showings (before 8 pm) and $10.00 per person for the evening showings (8 p.m. onward). Albury also stated, “Our 10th Anniversary LaserFest was very popular, so we’re encouraging guests to purchase their tickets online in advance. If a show sells out early, we’ll add another one later on in the evening, if possible.”
For more information about the planetarium and the “March Madness: Spring Laser Spectacular”, contact James C. Albury, planetarium coordinator at 352-395-5381 or james.albury@sfcollege.edu. To purchase tickets, visit the planetarium’s website http://www.sfcollege.edu/planetarium.