Closed for projector work, OCC Planetarium goes direct in grand reopening Saturday

After closing to the public last month to allow for some needed projector upgrades, Orange Coast College’s Planetarium on Saturday will host a free grand-reopening event, offering a slate of out-of-this-world programming and activities for kids and families.

Jessica Artinger oversees programs and operations at the Costa Mesa planetarium, which attracts more than 40,000 visitors each year and is an ongoing destination for school field trips throughout Orange County.

She said the six-projector system was in need of repair, requiring the facility to temporarily close in late January, so equipment could be sent to Sony in Los Angeles for new parts and then carefully reinstalled inside the planetarium’s giant domed screen.

Orange Coast College’s Planetarium features a six-projector system that casts images onto the inside of a 70-foot diameter dome.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)

“It’s not just a matter of installing a projector. There are six of them, and we have to align all six projectors together,” she said Tuesday, elaborating on what a difference the work has made.

“I’ve been working here three years, and [now] the dark is darker than I’ve ever seen it — it’s pretty remarkable how crisp and clean everything looks.”

For Saturday’s reopening, the site will open its doors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free viewings of three feature-length films related to earth science, astronomy and space exploration, which will run in five showings beginning at noon.

“Magic Tree House: Space Mission” follows Jack and Annie, characters from the award-winning children’s book series, as they meet with an astronomer and astronaut on a journey through space, in showings at noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

With two viewings scheduled for 1 and 4 p.m., “Birth of Planet Earth” tells the tale of the planet’s formation, shedding light on how Earth came to support life and why the moon circles in perpetual orbit around it.

After a brief closure, OCC’s Planetarium Saturday welcomes the public to a grand reopening of the Costa Mesa campus facility.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)

A third film, the Spanish-language “Habitat Tierra,” takes viewers on a journey that extends from the depths of the planet’s oceans to forest floors that teem with fungi vital to tree growth, reflecting on the intersection of ecological systems and human activity.

Although the shows are free and filling up quickly, visitors may still be able to reserve seats online at occtickets.universitytickets.com (create an account to join a wait list) or wait in a standby line on the day of the event.

But Artinger assures that even for those who may miss out on a viewing, there will be many other activities, exhibits and displays for kids to explore on Saturday, from making NASA-style mission coins to peering through solar telescopes to visiting OCC’s Dennis Kelly Aquarium and crafting their own jellyfish.

“We want people to remember they don’t have to go all the way to the Griffith Observatory,” she added. “They can come right here to Costa Mesa to learn about astronomy or science in general.”

Orange Coast College is located at 2701 Fairview Road, in Costa Mesa. Free event parking is available Saturday in Lot E off Merrimac Way. To learn more, visit orangecoastcollege.edu/community/planetarium or call (714) 714-7430.

The Orange Coast College Planetarium hosts a free grand-reopening event Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Costa Mesa campus.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)