A Product of the Space Age...
The planetarium was established in 1969 as part of an initiative to enhance science education in America, the El Paso Public School system, the Junior League of El Paso, and the National Science Foundation pooled their resources through the National Defense Education Act and constructed this gateway to the Universe. Since it's creation, the planetarium has been a place where over a million students in the El Paso Independent School District, students from all around the El Paso region, and the general public have traveled to the far reaches of the Universe from the comfort of our 120 reclined seats.
In 2001, the EPISD renamed the planetarium after famous El Pasoan, Gene Roddenberry. Born in the Sun City in 1921, Gene Roddenberry was a radio man on bombers in World War II and became a famous Hollywood screen writer. He is most famous for his work in creating Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry's vision of a future where people of all origins, races, and creeds can work and live together in peace and understanding fits well with our school district's philosophy of achieving "Nothing Less Than Success" for all our students. It is how we intend to prepare them to lead us all into the 'Final Frontier'...
A 21st Century Planetarium
In 2009, the EPISD received a grant from the Department of Defense. A small portion of this grant went into a major upgrade of the planetarium. The old star machine and all of the hundred or so special effects projectors that were integrated to portray our education program content on the planetarium dome were replaced with a single all digital projection system called the Digistar. Starting with Digistar 3 and advancing to Digistar 4 in 2010, the future is here now! This powerful instructional tool allows the planetarium to offer programs both closely aligned with the curriculum and visually exciting to experience; and, it brings our student's science and astronomy education to a whole new level!
Public Presentations
Although we are primarily a school facility, we do offer programs to the general public free of charge during June and July as well as a more limited offering during the school year. All of our publicly presented programs during the school year are the same educational programs shown to our students. There are nine such programs during the school year. There will be one such program each month from September through May.
During the 2011 - 2012 school year, the planetarium will offer these programs on the following evenings:
May 18th, 2012 7:00 p.m. Program: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket
****Programs and dates are subject to change during the course of the school year****
Tickets for each of these events are FREE. However, due to limited seating, you will need to obtain your tickets at the office window starting at 6:30 on each of the above mentioned evenings. Sorry, but there will be no advanced ticket giveaways for these programs.
During the 2011 - 2012 school year, the planetarium will offer these programs on the following evenings:
May 18th, 2012 7:00 p.m. Program: Secret of the Cardboard Rocket
****Programs and dates are subject to change during the course of the school year****
Tickets for each of these events are FREE. However, due to limited seating, you will need to obtain your tickets at the office window starting at 6:30 on each of the above mentioned evenings. Sorry, but there will be no advanced ticket giveaways for these programs.
Preliminary Summer 2012 Program Schedule
Earth Moon & Sun
This program will include a detailed tour of the night sky featuring the planets and bright constellations that can be found on the evening of your visit. We will also compare the planets of our Solar System to each other. Then we will present the Digistar program, "Earth, Moon, & Sun" which examines these three celestial bodies, their spacial relationships, cycles, and physical characteristics, as well as common misconceptions in space science.
--This program is subject to change without notice--
June Public Program Schedule:
Monday June 18th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday June 19th through Friday, June 22nd
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
Monday June 25th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday June 26th through Thursday, June 28th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
July Public Program Schedule:
Monday July 9th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 10th through Thursday, July 12th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
Monday July 16th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 17th through Thursday, July 19th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
Tickets are free to general admission audiences and must be obtained at the planetarium office window one half hour before each program.
We’re sorry, but there will be no advanced ticket giveaways…
This program is for individuals and families only and groups will not be admitted!
Due to the popularity of these programs, we are expecting long lines, hot summer temperatures, and people in line well before the ticket times! So, please dress accordingly and expect long waiting periods!
Below is a Google Maps Link to the planetarium...
This program will include a detailed tour of the night sky featuring the planets and bright constellations that can be found on the evening of your visit. We will also compare the planets of our Solar System to each other. Then we will present the Digistar program, "Earth, Moon, & Sun" which examines these three celestial bodies, their spacial relationships, cycles, and physical characteristics, as well as common misconceptions in space science.
--This program is subject to change without notice--
June Public Program Schedule:
Monday June 18th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday June 19th through Friday, June 22nd
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
Monday June 25th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday June 26th through Thursday, June 28th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
July Public Program Schedule:
Monday July 9th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 10th through Thursday, July 12th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
Monday July 16th
4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 17th through Thursday, July 19th
1:00 p.m. , 4:00 p.m., & 7:00 p.m.
There will be no programming on Friday this week as the EPISD is closed on Friday
Tickets are free to general admission audiences and must be obtained at the planetarium office window one half hour before each program.
We’re sorry, but there will be no advanced ticket giveaways…
This program is for individuals and families only and groups will not be admitted!
Due to the popularity of these programs, we are expecting long lines, hot summer temperatures, and people in line well before the ticket times! So, please dress accordingly and expect long waiting periods!
Below is a Google Maps Link to the planetarium...
The Planetarium is a part of the
Instructional Technology Services Department.
Click on the logos below to go to the I.T.S. website...
Here are the phases of the Moon for 2012
Click on the image for the Moon Phases this month!
