Q: Why is there an admission fee for public shows and for schools other than Jackson Public Schools?

A: Jackson Public Schools operates the planetarium for its students and allows other schools to access the facility for a fee. Fees that are generated help offset the wages of the director, the cost of programs, projector bulbs, new equipment, etc. Fees from public shows are typically re-invested into new shows for the community. New planetarium programs are very expensive since we have to purchase the rights to show them. Most programs require an investment of about $1000 and anywhere from 40-100 hours of time to fully prepare them for our theatre.

Q: Why is the planetarium closed during the summer, much of Christmas break and during spring break?

A: The director is employed by Jackson Public Schools and is contracted between late August to mid-June. Mark and several individuals volunteer many hours on evenings and weekends during the school year to offer the public opportunities to access the planetarium. Christmas, Spring Break, and the summer months are largely reserved for family, college coursework, equipment upgrades, etc.

Q: Is the planetarium instrument outdated and is it true it is in poor operating condition?

A: The planetarium instrument is actually in very good shape since it has maintenance performed on it each year for the past 36 years. To extend the effective lifetime of our star projector, we recently (June 2005) updated the operators console and electronic interfaces to marry the planetarium projector and audiovisual equipment together. The net result is that all of our projectors can be programmed including the star projector that provide possibilities far greater than what was possible in September 1969, when the planetarium first opened.

Q: Why does the planetarium use Jackson High School or Wildwood Avenue as its mailing address?

A: Since the planetarium is part of Jackson Public Schools and Mark Reed's assignment is paired with Jackson High School, the high school's address insures that packages, mail, electronic equipment are sent to a secure and dry location. The planetarium's actual street address was listed as 3225 Fourth Street. To add to the complication, the planetarium is not directly accessable from Fourth Street. Since the planetarium entrance is on Oakwood within Ella Sharp Park, the City of Jackson changed our address to 3328 Oakwood to help visitors find our facility. Mail is still delivered to Jackson High School.