Being a student at Corning Community College has its perks. I’ve graduated after two and a half years and regret not taking advantage of these perks in my early days as a student. Now that I’m taking summer classes, I decided to look into these perks before I ship off to a 4-year school.
Even before I considered attending Corning Community College, my mother had told me how much she enjoyed coming up with her mother as a child to the Planetarium and Observatory located here on campus. She always hinted that she’d like to go again someday. About a month ago I texted my mother and asked her if she wanted to go with me. She replied with, “YES!!!” She was ecstatic! What a great daughter I am.
I brought my mother and other family members up. Doors open at the Planetarium at 7:30 PM every first and third Friday of the month and the show starts at 8:00PM SHARP! Apparently, if you show up 20 minutes late, they won’t let you in. However, they were nice enough to take us up to the Observatory, show us the telescope and give us an interesting info session of the history of the Observatory.
As interesting as this was, the sky wasn’t clear enough for us to look through any of the telescopes! Unfortunate, but I was willing to try again. Last Friday I brought my mother up again. We arrived at 7:45 PM! There was no way I was going to miss the show again. Not only did I get half off tickets into the Planetarium with my Student ID, but my mother did as well for being with me. Talk about VIP!
We walked in and others were already seated and waiting for the show to start, some with their seats reclined. We sat in the back, middle section. I wanted to recline my seat. I struggled and struggled to get my seat reclined. I’m a bit over dramatic, I’m pretty sure everyone could tell my determination to recline my seat… The woman who checked us in came in and informed me that only the first three rows recline. I’m giving you fair warning, so you don’t look as foolish as I did!
The show was informative, funny and entertaining. I won’t ruin it, see it for yourself. The next showing is next Friday, June 18th at 8:00 PM SHARP! They have a new show each month. I will say, the star globe (I don’t know if that’s the technical term) was extremely fascinating! And I know this wasn’t planned, but it began to down pour in the middle of the show. The sound of the rain on the dome was relaxing and the seats were extra comfy (even though mine didn't recline). But, I’m a person who sleeps like a baby through thunder storms.
Obviously, with the rain, the skies weren’t clear enough for us to look through the telescopes. Maybe you’ll see me there next week! After all, the Observatory is free. After the show we strolled down to Market Street to get some Atlas Pizza (one of my mom's favorites). It was a great friday night out. Maybe take a family member, a date or a friend? I will say, it was a lot cheaper than dinner and a movie (which some may argue is the only thing to do in our area) and a lot more entertaining.
