After the HAA’s well attended preview visit to McMater University’s newly refurbished planetarium on Tuesday night, the William J. McCallion Planetarium was officially opened last night in a grand ceremony.
The HAA was well represented by Jim and Celia, Jackie, Tim P., Greg and myself, as we joined Doug Welch and the rest of the university’s astronomy department. Also in attendance were many students, community members, members of the Hamilton Centre, RASC and, best of all, the McCallion family. Mrs. McCallion was charming and very happy to tell stories about the early days when the planetarium didn’t have a dome and she and her husband used an old parachute to project the stars on!
Remarks by Doug, organizer Mike Reid (whom we know well, as he spoke to the HAA just a couple of months ago) McMaster president Peter George and a local school teacher were pleasant and accompanied by a fine buffet. There were shows in the planetarium for everyone, and people then lingered for some time just to enjoy each others company.
Congratulations to Mike for putting together a very successful event, and best wishes to Doug and all the crew at the planetarium for many more years of service!
