The new Sudekum Planetarium at Adventure Science Center

Get ready to blast off into space and explore the stars.  The brand new Sudekum Planetarium and Space Chase at Nashville's Adventure Science Center opens this week and it takes the city into the stratosphere of attractions.

Full disclosure: My wife is on the Board at the Adventure Science Center.  And that's why I got the chance to experience the dedication of the new Sudekum Planetarium and Space Chase exhibit last night. Lucky me!

This re-invention of the planetarium has no equal in North America.  And it's where? Here?

It took twelve months to build the new planetarium and exhibit wing, the same amount of time required to manufacture and install the "star" piece of technology in the Sudekum Planetarium - a GOTO Chiron Hybrid projection system.

The Sudekum is the first planetarium in the United States to have this unique GOTO system, which sports a serial number of 4.  The first three systems reside in Japan.  The Chiron optical star projector is a 28-inch sphere that uses fiber optic bundles and a complex optical path of lenses, iris and digital shutters to project 6.5 million stars on the dome for a beautiful and realistic re-creation of the night sky.

It's all that and a bag of chips, folks.  In a round theater, the reclinable high backed seats tilt toward the domed screen.  In the middle of the room is the GOTO which which seems to be a stunning example of technology and art.  The show, Stars, is a 26 minute trip through the universe, our galaxy and an animated lesson in the history of astro-physics.  The film is narrated by Mark Hamill (yes, Skywalker) and the original score was recorded by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

The Space Chase exhibit area features opportunities to strap into a harness and experience gravity on the moon surface as well as how it feels to take a space walk.  There's a round table that tilts and spins in order to tour the globe via satellite photographs.  Large scale exhibits create a better understanding of our place in the milky way.  This is $22 million worth of fun and learning.

This attraction will be a destination in and of itself drawing people to Nashville.  The buzz has started and you watch it get stronger.  NBC Nightly News is airing a piece on it tonight.  I expect the planetarium show to be the toughest ticket in town this summer.