Welcome to the L锚 Planetarium at 桃花社区视频 Dominion University, a beacon of community engagement and educational excellence. Serving as both a dynamic lecture hall and an advanced auditorium, the L锚 Planetarium is equipped with state-of-the-art Digistar 7 software for astronomy courses, 3D projection capabilities for proteins and molecules, and NASA's Science on a Sphere modules. Our facility also supports live streaming presentations, all projected in stunning 4K resolution on our immersive dome.
Step into our 116-seat planetarium and embark on an awe-inspiring journey through space and time. From the comfort of a plush, reclined seat, experience the sensation of soaring through Earth's atmosphere to the furthest reaches of the universe. The L锚 Planetarium is truly a remarkable resource for both our students and the broader community.
Exhibits and Features
To create new content for our shows, we have our own production studio. The studio is designed to let creative professionals design and build complete full dome shows outside of the theater. This allows us to easily create content for each grade based on Virginia's Science Standards of Learning.
Students, faculty, and staff have complete artistic control over how to build a show and can do so even while the planetarium dome is in use.
In total, NASA has donated nearly $100,000 worth of surplus equipment to 桃花社区视频 and the L锚 Planetarium. Items include pieces of space suits from the 1980s and 1990s, a piece of the Gemini X heat shield, and a full in-flight suit.
Our meteorite collection has been steadily growing since 2017. With over $20,000 of meteorite fragments, our pieces range from the Chelyabinsk impact of 2013 to lunar specimens to a piece of Argentina's Campo Del Cielo weighing 63 pounds!
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, we designed and built an interactive display case where you can touch an actual piece of the Moon. This lunar meteorite was once part of the Moon, blasted into space from a large meteor collision, and eventually made it's way to Earth.
To create new content for our shows, we have our own production studio. The studio is designed to let creative professionals design and build complete full dome shows outside of the theater. This allows us to easily create content for each grade based on Virginia's Science Standards of Learning.
Students, faculty, and staff have complete artistic control over how to build a show and can do so even while the planetarium dome is in use.
In total, NASA has donated nearly $100,000 worth of surplus equipment to 桃花社区视频 and the L锚 Planetarium. Items include pieces of space suits from the 1980s and 1990s, a piece of the Gemini X heat shield, and a full in-flight suit.
Our meteorite collection has been steadily growing since 2017. With over $20,000 of meteorite fragments, our pieces range from the Chelyabinsk impact of 2013 to lunar specimens to a piece of Argentina's Campo Del Cielo weighing 63 pounds!
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, we designed and built an interactive display case where you can touch an actual piece of the Moon. This lunar meteorite was once part of the Moon, blasted into space from a large meteor collision, and eventually made it's way to Earth.
JUSTIN MASON
DIRECTOR
M.S. in Physics - Ball 桃花社区视频 University, 2009 | M.S. in Astronomy - Indiana University, 2011 | Joined 桃花社区视频 in March of 2012
WYATT ELLIOTT
PLANETARIUM ASSISTANT
Undergraduate - Astrophysics Major
JOSH WAGER
PLANETARIUM ASSISTANT
Undergraduate - Astrophysics Major
MONICA WALKER
PLANETARIUM ASSISTANT
Undergraduate - Biomedical Sciences Major
Alumnus聽Michael L锚 is founder and CEO of Advantco International, LLC. He lives with his wife, Kimthanh (who goes by KT) in Raleigh, North Carolina, but he returned to 桃花社区视频 Dominion University in 2019 to speak to budding entrepreneurs as part of a computer science lecture series. L锚 comes from very humble beginnings and he did not shy away from sharing how he ended up at 桃花社区视频.
His life was capsized after the end of the Vietnam War. L锚 fled Vietnam on a boat meant to carry 200 passengers, but it transported 800 refugees from Vietnam to Subic Bay, Philippines. L锚 then found himself in Guam. After weeks of uncertainty L锚 was flown to a military post that had been temporarily reoutfitted. "I ended up staying in one of those refugee centers back in 1975, Indian Town Gap Pennsylvania," L锚 said "and I was sponsored by a person in the Navy to come to Norfolk, and that's when I learned about 桃花社区视频."
As an undergraduate L锚 said he worked "four part-time jobs while taking a full course load." L锚 graduated from 桃花社区视频's College of Sciences with a Bachelor of Science majoring in computer science in 1980. Thanks to a successful internship, his first job was with IBM in Downtown Norfolk. "I was a systems engineer trainee." L锚's career catapulted after leaving IBM. He is an incredibly hard worker, he's able to recognize where the gaps exist in technology, and has since founded and sold two multi-million-dollar companies. L锚 wanted to give back to the University that helped provide his education, and the new planetarium was that opportunity. It is a facility that will be with the University for decades to come, and educating students and the public alike.
Opened in 1967, the 40-foot domed planetarium was used by the introductory astronomy classes which were were first implemented at 桃花社区视频 Dominion University by the late聽. It was was utilized as a hub for STEM education and outreach until its retirement in 2021.
The planetarium was named for Miss Mary Denson Pretlow at the request of the anonymous donor who presented the University with the funds to build the planetarium. The University's Board of Visitors was receptive to naming the building after Miss Pretlow due to her thirty years of service (1917-1947) as head of the Norfolk Public Library as well as her career as a distinguished historian and librarian.
Alumnus聽Michael L锚 is founder and CEO of Advantco International, LLC. He lives with his wife, Kimthanh (who goes by KT) in Raleigh, North Carolina, but he returned to 桃花社区视频 Dominion University in 2019 to speak to budding entrepreneurs as part of a computer science lecture series. L锚 comes from very humble beginnings and he did not shy away from sharing how he ended up at 桃花社区视频.
His life was capsized after the end of the Vietnam War. L锚 fled Vietnam on a boat meant to carry 200 passengers, but it transported 800 refugees from Vietnam to Subic Bay, Philippines. L锚 then found himself in Guam. After weeks of uncertainty L锚 was flown to a military post that had been temporarily reoutfitted. "I ended up staying in one of those refugee centers back in 1975, Indian Town Gap Pennsylvania," L锚 said "and I was sponsored by a person in the Navy to come to Norfolk, and that's when I learned about 桃花社区视频."
As an undergraduate L锚 said he worked "four part-time jobs while taking a full course load." L锚 graduated from 桃花社区视频's College of Sciences with a Bachelor of Science majoring in computer science in 1980. Thanks to a successful internship, his first job was with IBM in Downtown Norfolk. "I was a systems engineer trainee." L锚's career catapulted after leaving IBM. He is an incredibly hard worker, he's able to recognize where the gaps exist in technology, and has since founded and sold two multi-million-dollar companies. L锚 wanted to give back to the University that helped provide his education, and the new planetarium was that opportunity. It is a facility that will be with the University for decades to come, and educating students and the public alike.
Opened in 1967, the 40-foot domed planetarium was used by the introductory astronomy classes which were were first implemented at 桃花社区视频 Dominion University by the late聽. It was was utilized as a hub for STEM education and outreach until its retirement in 2021.
The planetarium was named for Miss Mary Denson Pretlow at the request of the anonymous donor who presented the University with the funds to build the planetarium. The University's Board of Visitors was receptive to naming the building after Miss Pretlow due to her thirty years of service (1917-1947) as head of the Norfolk Public Library as well as her career as a distinguished historian and librarian.