The planetarium is one of only about a dozen in Ohio high schools.

The planetarium is one of only about a dozen in Ohio high schools.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- For three school years, a room in Lordstown High School served as a backup storage facility.
Within the next few weeks, it will again be used for its original purpose: a planetarium.
As boxes and chairs are cleared away, the projection system once again takes center stage.
"For the rest of this year, we will be able to use it to supplement our physics and integrated science classes," said Michael Alvetro, principal and a former physics teacher himself.
Alvetro said plans are to bring back astronomy as a science elective for the 2005-06 school year, and possibly open the facility for occasional shows to the general public.
The planetarium, one of only about a dozen in Ohio high schools, was included as a part of the building plans when the high school was erected in 1976, Alvetro said.
Why it closed
The site was closed a few years ago after the projection system needed repairs and the district didn't have the money. When Lordstown schools were placed into state-imposed fiscal emergency, the astronomy class was one of several programs and positions eliminated.
Since the district was released from that status earlier this year, some cut items are slowly being restored.
But it still cost the district roughly $1,700 to have the projection system for the planetarium repaired to bring that service back, Alvetro said.
"Getting that project repaired is pretty difficult," he said. "There are only a few people in the country who are qualified to work on them."
To fix Lordstown's projector, a technician was called in from Florida, he said.
The projector, which sits in the middle of the room and is surrounded by a circle of 28 seats, displays star constellations on a domed ceiling. The projector can be programmed to display the night sky for this area of the country at any time of the year.
Slide projectors mounted around the bottom of the dome can also use slide programs to project images of the solar system or specific planets onto the ceiling, Alvetro said.
Telescope
In addition to the projector, the room also houses a high-end reflective telescope. A 12-inch mirror in the telescope can zoom into objects in space not normally spotted by a traditional telescope, Alvetro said.
The telescope can also be attached to a computer, which instructs a motor on the telescope to rotate to an exact point as programmed into the computer.
"There are some universities out there that would be jealous of this equipment in our high school," he added.
Alvetro said he planned to work with science teachers to integrate the facility back into the curriculum.
He added that he's talked with board of education members about possibly opening the facility to the public a few nights each year as well for special programs.
slshaulis@vindy.com