The East Kentucky Science Center was once a private, non-profit

science center A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mus ...

and

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

located on the main campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As of 2008, the EKSC became part of Big Sandy Community and Technical College, which now funds and operates the Science Center.. The center features a planetarium, exhibit hall with traveling exhibits, science classrooms, and gift shop.

History

Low test scores in both

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

captured the attention of educators and local residents in 1994. A coalition was formed that focused on promoting and implementing science education into the region. At one of the first meetings, John Rosenburg proposed an ambitious plan: to build a

and

similar to the one in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the most populous city in and the county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte area, behind Concord, North Carolina, Concord. The po ...

, his hometown. Rosenburg had already created the proposal for the East Kentucky Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, which gained support of

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Greg Stumbo.Attractions
Floyd County Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved on 2010-09-27 After outreach education operations in 1997 proved that the majority of population within the region had difficulty in understanding mathematics and science, the organization began developing hands-on programs that would help overcome these issues. In 1998, the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

appropriated $1.6 million for the construction of the building and another $1 million for the centers equipment. The awarded funds were based on figures provided by a consulting architect working under the assumption that costs were significantly lower than those required for a project built on the campus of a

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

. The centers board of directors noticed this mistake and was forced to downsize the building plan. The new revised plans called for a facility, with an 85-seat, . planetarium, . exhibit area, . science classroom, gift shop and offices. In 2000, the organization received an additional $1 million for the construction of the building. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 9, 2001, and construction began in September 2002. Finally in March 2004, the East Kentucky Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, which was shortened to the Eastern Kentucky Science Center, opened to the public. As of July 1, 2008, the East Kentucky Science Center became part of Big Sandy Community and Technical College which is part of the

Kentucky Community and Technical College System The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) is the system of public community and technical colleges in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is headquartered in Versailles, Kentucky, and has 16 colleges with over 70 campuses. Programs ...

.08 RS HB 622/GA
Retrieved on 2010-09-27 During the Fall of 2011, The East Kentucky Science Center and Planetarium made a $200,000.00 upgrade to the Planetarium. A Spitz SciDome HD Full Dome projection system was installed to complement the GOTO Chronos Star Machine and the SkyLase Laser system. In 2018 a SkyLase Manual Laser controller was installed to do live laser, and in 2019, a new Chroma Cove LED lighting system was installed. These upgrades greatly enhanced the programs and made the Planetarium one of the most technologically advanced Planetariums in the country. It is also known as the East Kentucky Science Center and Planetarium, and the East Kentucky Science Center and Varia Planetarium.

References

External links

School Program Catalog & Visit Planner (2016-2017)
{{EMCF Attractions Museums in Floyd County, Kentucky Science museums in Kentucky Museums established in 2004 Planetaria in the United States 2004 establishments in Kentucky Prestonsburg, Kentucky University museums in Kentucky